BR  121  .C66  1913 
Cook,  Ezra  Albert. 
Christian  faith  for  men  of 
today 


CONSTRUCTIVE    BIBLE   STUDIES 


EDITED  BY 

ERNEST  D.  BURTON 


CHRISTIAN  FAITH   FOR  MEN 
OF  TODAY 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO  PRESS 
CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 


Agpnta 
THE  CAMBRIDGE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

LONDON  AND  EDINBURGH 

THE  MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA 

TOKYO,  OSAKA,  KYOTO 

KARL  W.  HIERSEMANN 

LEIPZIG 

THE  BAKER  &  TAYLOR  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK 


CHRISTIAN   FAITH 
FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 


Ezra  Albert  Cook,  Ph.D. 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO  PRESS 
CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 


Copyright  1913  By  ). 

The  University  of  Chicago  j 

,1 

All  Rights  Reserved 


Published  August  1913 


Composed  and  Printed  By 

The  University  of  Chicago  Press 

Chicago,  Illinois,  U.S.A. 


; 

1 

TO  THE  MEN  OF  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY  | 

WHO  DESIRE   TO  LIVE  THE  IDEAL  LIFE 

IN  THE  REAL  WORLD  j 

j 


PREFACE 

This  book  aims  to  present  the  essential  truths 
of  historic  Christianity  in  orderly  form,  in  non- 
technical language,  in  view  of,  and  in  harmony 
with,  those  elements  of  the  scientific  and  religious 
thought  of  today  which  are  generally  accepted 
by  trained  minds.  It  is  intended  primarily  for 
use  in  classes  for  religious  study  in  college,  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,  Sunday  school,  and 
kindred  organizations.  It  is  the  result  of  my 
experience  and  work  with  such  classes  and  has  been 
in  process  of  preparation  for  more  than  six  years. 

It  is  hoped  that  it  will  be  found  useful  to  three 
classes  of  people.  First  are  the  young  people  who 
are  in  process  of  forming  their  conceptions  of 
Christianity,  and  who,  being  in  contact  with  the 
intellectual  life  of  the  age,  must  necessarily  relate 
those  conceptions  to  that  which  they  are  learning 
in  the  realms  of  history,  sociology,  and  science. 
Second,  among  those  whom  I  have  in  mind  are 
those  older  members  of  the  Christian  church  who, 
having  accepted  in  their  youth  the  current  defini- 
tions and  doctrines  of  Christian  theology,  have 
lately  found  occasion,  perhaps  by  contact  with 
their  children  now  in  process  of  education,  perhaps 
by  reading  and  reflection,  to  consider  whether 
some  changes  of  their  thought  about  religion,  in 


X  PREFACE 

form  if  not  in  substance,  are  not  called  for  by  the 
progress  of  human  thought  in  various  fields  of 
knowledge.  And  third,  it  is  intended  for  some 
people  who,  intelligent  and  influential  in  other 
departments  of  thought  and  life,  have  remained 
outside  the  church,  under  the  impression  that  the 
Christian  church  is  falling  so  far  behind  the  progress 
of  thought  in  other  spheres  that  one  who  thinks 
honestly  cannot  really  accept  current  Christianity 
or  ally  oneself  with  the  church. 

Religion  is  not  wholly  an  affair  of  the  intellect; 
it  is  even  more  a  matter  of  will  and  life.  But 
Christianity  has  its  intellectual  side,  and  clear 
and  strong  thinking  ought  to  issue,  and  in  the  long 
run  and  in  the  large,  always  does  issue,  not  in 
negations,  but  in  positive  convictions,  and  through 
them  in  larger  and  richer  life. 

While  I  am  indebted  to  very  many  books  and 
minds  for  the  development  of  my  own  theological 
thought  and  for  assistance  in  the  composition  of 
this  book,  I  may  mention  three  men  to  whom  my 
thanks  are  especially  due.  President  W.  Douglass 
Mackenzie,  of  Hartford  Theological  Seminary,  was 
my  teacher  in  theology  and  is  my  dear  friend. 
Professor  William  Adams  Brown,  of  Union  Semi- 
nary, was  exceedingly  kind  in  reading  through  the 
manuscript  of  this  book,  in  earlier  forms,  twice, 
and  in  offering  many  very  helpful  suggestions. 
Mr.  Frederick  M.  Harris,  editor  of  publications  of 


PREFACE  xi 

the  International  Committee  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  also  read  the  manuscript 
in  an  earlier  form  and  in  its  final  revision,  and  his 
encouragement  and  advice  on  many  points  have 
been  of  great  value. 

I  shall  greatly  appreciate  any  sympathetic 
criticism  or  suggestion  for  improvement  of  a  future 
edition  which  any  careful  student  of  this  book 
may  send  to  me,  and  it  goes  forth  with  the  earnest 
hope  that  God  may  use  it  for  the  strengthening 
of  the  church  of  Christ  and  the  establishment  of 
his  kingdom  in  the  hearts  of  all  men. 

E.  Albert  Cook 

Congregational  College  of  Canada,  Montreal 
April,  1913 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.    Is    Christianity   the   Best   Reli- 
gion?              I 

II.    The  Value  of  the  Bible  as  a  Writ- 
ten Revelation 40 

III.  How  to  Use  the  Bible    ....  56 

IV.  What   Shall  We   Believe   about 
God? 75 

V.    Man,  Sin,  and  Salvation      ...  102 

VI.    What   Shall  We   Believe   about 

Jesus? 130 

VII.  What  Shall  We  Believe  about 
THE  Last  Things  and  the  Future 
Life? 160 

VIII.    How    Shall    We    Cultivate    and 

Express  the  Best  Faith?  .     .     .     181 

Appendix   I.    Books  for  Reference    .     .     .     221 

Appendix  II.    Notes,  References  and  Ques- 
tions        223 

Index 255 


CHAPTER  I 

IS  CHRISTIANITY  THE  BEST  RELIGION  ? 

"Let  no  man  lead  you  astray:  he  that  doeth  righteous- 
ness is  righteous."— I  John  3 : 7. 

I.  Religion  is  man's  consciousness  of  relation 
to  his  larger  environment,  (a)  his  feeling  of  relation 
to  God  (or  nature  or  the  universe)  and  to  humanity ; 
(b)  his  thought  about  these  relations  and  their 
consequences,  and  (c)  the  action  resulting  from 
this  feeling  and  belief. — This  definition  differs  from 
many  familiar  ones,  especially  in  two  ways.  First, 
it  recognizes  the  participation  of  the  whole  nature 
of  man,  emotions,  intellect,  and  will,  whereas 
many  have  thought  that  religion  belonged  to  one 
of  these  three  phases  of  human  nature,  to  the  par- 
tial or  complete  exclusion  of  the  others.  Secondly, 
this  definition  recognizes  the  essential  place  in 
religion  of  man's  relation  to  humanity  at  large,  as 
a  part  of  his  environment. 

This  definition  includes  all  forms  of  religion, 
even  atheistic  forms  such  as  the  original  Buddhism, 
which  it  was  very  difficult  to  include  in  a  definition 
which  made  religion  the  worship  of  a  god  or  gods. 
It  also  recognizes  that  all  men  are  religious,  even 
those  who  have  nothing  to  do  with  religious 
organizations  or  ceremonies,    For  every  man  feels 


2      CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

some  relation  to  the  rest  of  reality,  whether  he 
thinks  of  that  as  fate,  or  the  All,  or  some  good  or 
evil  spirits,  or  the  God  and  Father  of  Jesus  Christ. 
For  instance,  the  man  whose  life  is  absorbed  in 
money-making  has  a  feeling  that  he  is  taking  the 
best  way  to  obtain  the  greatest  power  over  the 
earth  and  man  and  get  the  most  out  of  life.  His 
real  religious  faith  is  made  in  view  of  that  feeling 
and  his  action  is  consistent  with  it.  So  too  the 
materialist  who  believes  in  no  spiritual  force  behind 
and  in  the  universe,  but  nevertheless  devotes 
perhaps  his  whole  wealth  and  energy  to  the  im- 
provement of  the  condition  of  his  fellow-men,  is 
seen  to  be  religious — indeed,  we  shall  come  to  see 
that  he  has  a  very  good  form  of  religion,  although 
far  from  the  best. 

We  are  justified  in  including  the  consciousness 
of  relation  to  humanity  as  an  important  element 
in  religion,  philosophically  by  the  fact  that  espe- 
cially when  nature  is  viewed  mechanically  as  the 
automatic  expression  of  inviolable  laws,  the  sig- 
nificant part  of  the  universe  to  which  relationship 
is  felt  is  humanity;  and  this  feeling  with  the  thought 
and  action  which  go  with  it  may  take  the  place 
which  would  otherwise  be  taken  by  feeling  of 
relation  to  superhuman  powers.  This  definition 
is  also  justified  historically,  as  we  find  that  the 
relationship  of  each  man  to  other  men,  at  least 
others  who  are  associated  with  him  in  the  same 


IS  CHRISTIANITY  THE  BEST  RELIGION?      3 

form  of  religion,  is  an  essential  part  of  historical 
religions,  and  that  the  highest  forms  lay  the  most 
stress  on  the  necessity  of  right  relations  with  men. 
The  highest  form  of  religion  may  therefore  be 
defined  with  Professor  E.  T.  Harper  as  ''life 
flowing  from  love  to  God  and  fellow-men." 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  no  other  religion  has 
attained  to  such  a  high  idea  of  God  and  noble 
conception  of  man,  or  been  developed  in  such 
harmonious  and  helpful  relation  to  the  three 
phases  of  man's  nature,  feeling,  thought,  and 
action,  as  Christianity.  It  is  in  Christianity 
that  the  highest  ideal  of  religion  has  been  reached, 
and  most  largely  realized,  and  this  will  appear 
as  we  consider  that  ideal  and  measure  essential 
Christianity  by  it,  in  the  following  pages. 

A  helpful  conception  of  the  nature  of  religion 
is  that  it  is  the  search  for  friends  in  the  universe. 
For  every  man  instinctively  desires  to  be  in  friendly 
relations  with  the  rest  of  reality,  and  friendship 
can  obtain,  in  its  higher  forms,  only  between  per- 
sonal beings.  Hence  the  universal  tendency  to 
think  of  the  powers  of  nature,  the  great  factors 
that  determine  one's  fortune  and  destiny  as  being, 
or  being  controlled  by,  a  great  person  or  persons, 
a  god  or  gods.  All  religion  in  its  earlier  forms 
believes  that  there  are  such  friendly  beings  with 
which  man  can  come  into  contact.  Pantheism 
and  atheism  are  in  every  case  later  developments 


4       CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  IMEN  OF  TODAY 

to  which  some  men  have  thought  themselves 
forced  by  their  reason.  The  worship  of  unfriendly 
or  evil  spirits  or  gods  is  rightly  regarded  as  either 
a  degradation  or  a  counterfeit  of  religion  and  not  a 
true  or  natural  development. 

2.  The  best  religion,  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
individual,  is  that  which  is  of  the  greatest  assistance 
in  the  development  and  enjoyment  of  all  his  powers, 
or  which  leads  to  the  most  satisfying  life.  From 
the  standpoint  of  society,  it  is  that  which  has  the 
strongest  tendency  to  make  men  helpful  to  each 
other  or  righteous. — The  truth  of  the  first  part  of 
this  thesis  is  self-evident.  Some  may  question, 
however,  whether  religion  has  to  do  with  all  phases 
and  powers  of  Ufe,  and  especially  whether  it  may 
not  be  necessary,  in  order  to  develop  and  enjoy 
the  higher  and  nobler  powers,  or  to  enjoy  the  life 
of  happiness  after  the  earthly  life  is  over,  that  one 
should  deny  himself  other  enjoyments.  Different 
forms  of  religion  have  emphasized  one  interest  of 
human  life,  and  neglected  others  or  taught  that 
the  others  must  be  quite  abandoned  if  the  more 
important  were  to  be  truly  attained.  It  must  be 
evident,  however,  that  if  it  were  possible  to  enjoy 
physical  health,  the  various  normal  exercises  and 
pleasures  of  mortal  life,  and  of  the  Hfe  ajter  the 
death  of  the  body,  and  at  the  same  time  to  attain 
the  highest  development  of  the  spiritual  Hfe — that 
is,  of  character — a  religion  which  enabled  a  man 


IS  CHRISTIANITY  THE  BEST  RELIGION?      5 

to  do  this  would  be  better  than  one  which  enabled 
him  to  do  only  part  of  this.  Christianity  in  its 
highest  form  holds  that  these  various  forms  of 
individual  satisfaction  are  all  mutually  consistent, 
indeed,  that  they  are  all  bound  up  together,  so 
that  no  one  can  enjoy  one  phase  of  life  in  the  best 
way  without  the  development  of  the  other  phases; 
and  so  far  as  our  experience  goes  Christianity  has 
been  more  successful  in  thus  promoting  the  larger 
Hfe  of  the  individual  than  any  other  form  of  religion. 

The  truth  of  the  second  part  of  this  thesis — that 
is,  that  from  the  standpoint  of  society  that  religion 
is  best  which  best  helps  men  to  become  righteous — 
will  be  seen  when  in  section  6  we  consider  the 
meaning  of  righteousness,  and  see  that  the  righteous 
life  is  just  that  life  which  is  most  helpful  to  others, 
and  therefore  most  useful  to  men. 

3.  Christianity  has  satisfied  at  the  same  time 
the  needs  of  the  individual  and  of  society  as  no 
other  religion  has  done,  and  thus  harmonized  and 
united  the  elements  which  in  other  religions  have 
always  remained  more  or  less  antagonistic. — A 
complete  demonstration  of  this  thesis  would  of 
course  require  the  study  of  the  whole  history  of 
the  world  and  all  of  the  forms  of  religion  which 
have  existed.  But  for  practical  purposes  we  may 
make  our  study  much  narrower.  Since  there  is 
a  powerful  incentive  for  mankind  to  retain  what 
it  finds  to  be  most  useful,  and  social  change  is  in 


6      CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

general  progressive,  advancing,  although  with 
many  temporary  and  local  failures,  we  shall  be 
safe  in  assuming  that  the  best  elements  in  the 
religions  of  the  past  have  been  preserved  to  the 
present,  and  we  may  therefore  confine  our  atten- 
tion to  those  forms  of  reHgion  which  afifect  larger 
masses  of  men  at  the  present  time. 

The  great  forms  of  religion  at  the  present  tune 
are  Buddhism,  Christianity,  and  Mohammedanism. 
Confucianism  is  more  a  system  of  moral  and  poli- 
tical teaching  than  a  religion,  and  its  influence  in 
China  is  now  rapidly  decaying.  It  is  there  united 
with  various  forms  of  religion,  none  of  which  can  be 
considered  as  comparable  with  Christianity  in 
value  except  Buddhism.  Hinduism  is  a  name  for 
a  multitude  of  different  forms  of  religion,  which 
while  having  common  elements  are  without  true 
unity.    It  cannot,  therefore,  come  into  comparison. 

Buddhism  exists  in  different  forms  and  has 
been  corrupted  in  various  ways.  As  taught  by  its 
founder,  Gautama,  it  was  probably  in  its  best 
form  and  contained  much  that  was  good  and  true, 
especially  in  its  teachings  with  regard  to  the  vir- 
tuous life.  Gautama  taught  that  no  help  or 
salvation  could  be  expected  from  any  god,  and 
that  the  salvation  which  man  needed  could  be 
reached  only  by  the  cessation  of  all  desire.  This 
state  must  be  reached  by  everyone  for  himself, 
unaided  by  anyone  else.     Thus  original  and  eso- 


IS  CHRISTIANITY  THE  BEST  RELIGION  ?      7 

teric  Buddhism  was  practically  atheistic.  Later 
forms  have  worshiped  Gautama,  the  founder,  as  a 
god,  or  have  introduced  the  worship  of  other 
deities,  but  have  not  changed  the  general  ideal 
of  life  and  salvation. 

The  Buddhistic  view  of  life  is  that  it  is  evil, 
to  be  gotten  rid  of  as  soon  as  possible,  not  by 
suicide — that  would  only  prolong  it  in  other, 
perhaps  less  desirable,  incarnations — but  by  the 
extinction  of  the  desire  to  live.  The  highest  state 
which  the  Buddhist  hopes  to  reach  is  that  of  the 
Nirvana,  a  condition  of  dreamless  sleep — impos- 
sible definitely  to  distinguish  from  non-existence. 
In  the  meanwhile  a  man  should  treat  his  fellows 
kindly  and  rightly.  But  the  path  to  the  Nirvana 
is  only  for  the  few  who  give  up  their  interest  in  life 
and  its  activities;  and  the  many  have  for  the 
present  only  a  partial  interest  in  religion  and  do  not 
attain  to  the  salvation  which  it  offers.  Aside 
from  this  highest  form,  there  are  many  corrup- 
tions and  superstitions  in  the  doctrine  and  practice 
of  Buddhism,  and  the  life  of  the  people  who  adhere 
to  it  is  so  manifestly  inferior  to  that  of  Christians 
that  a  fair  comparison  can  lead  to  only  one  con- 
clusion as  to  which  is  better. 

Mohammedanism,  when  it  arose,  was  a  distinct 
advance  upon  the  forms  of  religion  and  morals 
which  it  superseded,  among  the  roving  tribes  of 
Arabia,  but  its  faith  and  life  have  been  inseparably 


8      CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

connected  with  faith  in  the  Koran  as  a  divine 
revelation  of  absolute  authority  in  all  respects. 
Thus  it  has  stood  against  progress  ever3rwhere 
and  does  so  today.  The  place  which  it  gives  to 
women  in  this  life,  whether  in  monogamous  or 
polygamous  conditions,  is  far  inferior  to  man's, 
and  they  are  believed  to  have  no  souls  and  to 
cease  to  exist  when  the  body  dies.  There  is  no 
place  in  the  religion  for  children,  while  they  are 
children.  It  has  some  good  teaching  both  moral 
and  religious,  but  both  are  far  inferior  to  that  of 
Christianity,  particularly  in  its  Protestant  forms, 
and  a  comparison  of  the  life  yielded  by  Moham- 
medanism and  Christianity  leaves  no  question  as  to 
which  is  superior.  Mohammedanism  propagates 
itself  more  by  the  power  of  the  sword  than  by  the 
appeal  to  reason  and  conscience,  and  justifies  the 
ruthless  slaughter  of  those  who  do  not  accept  it. 
This  glance  at  the  only  important  world-rivals 
of  Christianity,  which  should  be  supplemented  by 
study  of  books  referred  to  in  the  notes,  shows  that 
neither  of  them  can  be  looked  to  as  containing 
even  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  best  religion 
in  a  form  definite  enough  to  serve  as  foundations 
for  the  development  of  the  best  religion,  without 
giving  up  their  primary  characteristics  as  historic 
systems.  On  the  other  hand,  as  we  shall  see  in 
succeeding  sections,  Christianity  has  had  in  it, 
from  the  beginning,  the  fimdamental  principles  of 


IS  CHRISTIANITY  THE  BEST  RELIGION?      9 

that  religion  which  must  be  the  best  and  the  final 
one  for  humanity,  and  these  principles  must  be 
regarded  as  constituting  its  real  essence,  and  there- 
fore be  used  to  distinguish  it  from  errors  and  corrup- 
tions which  have  been  associated  with  many  of  its 
historic  forms. 

4.  Social  and  historical  forms  are  essential  to 
the  existence  and  development  of  religion,  and  the 
best  form  of  religion  can  be  most  surely  found  by 
the   study   of   historical   religions,   and   therefore 
especially    by    the    study    of    the    highest    form, 
Christianity. — No    sensible    man    undertakes    to 
become  expert  in  any  line  of  study  or  labor  in 
which  men  have  been  engaged  for  centuries,  with- 
out acquainting  himself  with  the  highest  results 
which    others    have    hitherto    achieved.     So    no 
sensible  man  will  undertake,  even  if  it  were  pos- 
sible, to  invent  or  discover  the  best  form  of  religion 
without  first  finding  out  the  highest  forms  which 
have  been  reached  in  the  history  of  men.     Every 
building  must  be  constructed  from  the  ground  up, 
and  every  advance  must  commence  at  the  point 
which  has  been  attained.     We  may  well  question 
whether  any  particular  form  of  Christianity  now 
adhered  to  by  large  masses  of  people  is  in  all 
respects  true  and  ideal.     If  it  were,  we  should 
have  a  right  to  expect  that  the  people  would  be 
perfect  in  character,  or  at  least  far  nearer  perfec- 
tion than  any  group  with  which  we  are  acquainted. 


lo     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

But  the  only  way  in  which  the  ideal  religion  can 
possibly  be  reached  is  by  the  patient  and  pro- 
gressive perfecting  of  the  best  that  we  have,  by 
the  emphasizing  of  that  which  proves  itself  most 
useful  and  true,  and  the  gradual  elimination  of 
elements  whose  value  has  been  but  temporary, 
and  which  have  been  outgrown.  Such  a  process 
of  growth  and  development  belongs  to  true  religion, 
and  results  from  its  own  nature  and  vitality,  and 
is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  characteristics  of 
Christianity. 

The  question  has  been  raised  whether  one  form 
of  religion  can  be  best  for  all  men,  or  whether  one 
form  may  not  be  better  for  one  race  or  nation  or 
class,  and  a  considerably  different  form  better  for 
another  race,  nation,  or  class.  No  doubt  there 
is  a  sense  in  which  the  latter  is  the  case.  But 
just  as  there  is  but  one  true  science  of  electricity 
for  all  men,  however  differently  electrical  apparatus 
may  be  used  in  different  places  and  conditions, 
and  just  as  true  food  is  nourishing  to  all  hirnian 
beings,  even  though  from  various  causes  the  diet 
and  the  appetite  of  one  man  will  differ  from  those 
of  another,  so  the  needs  and  elements  of  human 
nature  are  everywhere  fundamentally  the  same; 
and  the  best  rehgion  for  one  man  will  probably 
be  the  best  religion  for  every  other  man,  although 
different  elements  in  it  will  be  of  greater  value 
and  importance  in  the  one  case  than  in  the  other, 


IS  CHRISTIANITY  THE  BEST  RELIGION?     ii 

and   the  understanding  of  it  will  be  much  less 
complete  for  one  man  than  for  another. 

If,  then,  the  best  religion  is  one  which  shall 
best  meet  the  needs  of  all  races  and  classes,  we 
may  be  most  confident  that  we  have  foimd  the 
best  religion,  or  that  from  which  the  best  religion 
must  be  developed,  if  we  find  that  historical  form 
which  has  met  the  needs  of  masses  of  men  of  all 
classes  and  conditions  in  the  best  way  and  this 
we  cannot  doubt  to  be  historical  Christianity. 

If  we  admit  that  Christianity  has  some  error 
connected  with  it  in  its  historical  forms,  and  that 
other   great   religions   contain  some  of   the   good 
elements  of  Christianity,  it  may  be  thought  that 
after  all  they  should  be  treated  as  equals,  and  that 
we  should  simply  urge  the  emphasis  of  the  impor- 
tant and  rejection  of  the  false  in  each  case,  but 
not  ask  anyone  to  give  up  another  form  for  Chris- 
tianity.   This  is  not  the  right  attitude.     It  may 
be   that  one  form   of   religion  has  accepted  ele- 
ments of  good  which  belong  also  to  other  religions, 
but  that  its  essential  features  may  so  obscure  these 
good  elements  as  to  prevent  them  from  ever  attain- 
ing their  true  place  and  right  emphasis  in  the 
lives   of   its   adherents.     This   brings   us   to   the 
question  as  to  what  the  essence  of  a  religion  is. 
Our  answer  relates  to  founded  religions,  particu- 
larly, but  as   the  great  religions  of  the  world. 
Buddhism,    Mohammedanism,    and    Christianity, 


12     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

all  belong  to  this  class,  it  will  apply  to  them  all. 
We  hold,  then,  that  the  essence  of  a  religion  is 
that  character  or  those  features,  manifest  in  its 
founding  and  preserved  in  its  history,  which  by 
their  value  and  vitality  give  power  to  the  religion 
to  reform  and  purify  itself  and  adapt  itself  to 
both  the  permanent  and  the  changing  elements 
in  human  life.  We  have  briefly  considered  the 
two  rivals  of  Christianity  from  this  standpoint 
of  their  essential  form.  We  now  have  to  consider 
Christianity  very  briefly  in  the  same  way.  Of 
course  the  succeeding  chapters  in  the  book  are 
taken  up  with  the  explanation  and  confirmation 
of  the  details  of  Christian  faith  as  they  have  been 
developed  up  to  the  present  time. 

5.  Jesus  in  his  own  life  and  teaching  presented 
the  life  of  largest  development  and  satisfaction  for 
the  individual.— This  appears  from  the  accounts 
which  we  have  in  the  Gospels,  both  positively 
and  negatively.  He  did  not  teach  nor  practice 
asceticism,  although  he  did  teach  the  life  of  self- 
sacrifice  and  self-denial.  But  almost  all  of  his 
recorded  acts  are  those  of  promoting  the  health 
or  enjoyment  of  others.  He  did  not  avoid  feasts 
nor  say  much  of  fasting.  He  enjoyed  and  approved 
of  home  life  and  of  children  and  in  no  way  suggested 
that  a  life  of  seclusion  in  cell  or  monastery  was 
desired  by  God.  The  relations  which  he  sustained 
and  taught  his  disciples  to  hold  to  all  men  were 


IS  CHRISTIANITY  THE  BEST  RELIGION  ?     13 

determined  by  the  highest  emotion,  love.  In  the 
Beatitudes  he  points  out  the  way  to  the  happy 
Hfe.  In  his  warning  against  anxiety,  worry,  and 
covetousness,  he  was  showing  the  way  to  peace 
and  contentment  of  mind,  conducive  to  the 
healthiest  mental  and  physical  life.  He  says 
very  little  about  the  life  after  death,  and  is  mainly 
concerned  not  with  that  but  with  mortal  life 
itself.  In  the  Fourth  Gospel  he  is  represented  as 
especially  concerned  with  giving  life  to  men,  and 
many  expressions  emphasize  this  idea:  "I  came 
that  they  may  have  life,  and  that  they  may  have 
it  abundantly";  ''I  am  the  bread  of  life";  "Ye 
will  not  come  to  me  that  ye  may  have  life"; 
"I  am  the  way  and  the  truth  and  the  life." 

6.  Jesus  taught  that  righteousness  is  the  most 
important  element  in  the  life  of  the  individual  and 
of  society,  that  it  is  of  fundamental  value  for  God 
and  man. — A  man  acts  righteously  or  rightly 
when  he  does  what  he  would  want  everyone  else 
to  do  under  similar  circumstances.  This  defini- 
tion of  righteousness  was  first  clearly  stated  in 
substantially  this  form  by  the  great  philosopher 
Kant,  although  it  was  probably  understood  by 
Socrates,  two  thousand  years  earlier.  Jesus  taught 
it  in  the  form  we  know  as  the  Golden  Rule,  and 
all  of  his  teachings  are  consistent  with  it.  Con- 
fucius also  stated  it  in  a  negative  form,  but  did 
not  realize  its  truth  in  the  positive  form  in  which 


14     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

Jesus  taught  it.  The  great  value  of  this  definition 
is  that  everyone  who  understands  it  will  agree 
that  it  is  correct,  although  from  its  nature  it  will 
be  applied  differently  in  specific  cases  by  different 
people. 

Apart  from  some  of  the  teachings  of  Jesus 
about  the  ''last  things,"  the  judgment,  second 
coming,  etc.,  which  we  shall  have  to  consider 
later,  his  recorded  sayings  are  mainly  concerned 
with  two  things:  the  explanation  of  and  exhor- 
tation to  the  righteous  life,  and  the  presentation 
of  a  spiritual  idea  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  in 
place  of  the  prevailing  materialistic  idea  of  it. 
He  taught  that  the  essence  of  righteousness  is 
love,  and  that  God,  who  is  perfectly  righteous, 
requires  his  children  to  be  perfect  as  he  is.  He 
saw  beneath  the  outward  actions  to  the  inward 
motive,  and  judged  man  by  the  latter.  The  great- 
est commandment  is  to  love  God  (this  perfectly 
righteous  Being)  with  all  of  one's  nature,  and  the 
second,  like  to  the  first  in  importance  and  in 
character,  is  to  love  one's  neighbor  as  oneself — 
that  is,  one  cannot  love  God  truly  without  loving 
one's  neighbor  also  truly.  Such  love  to  one's  fellows, 
as  he  taught  and  exemplified  it,  was  the  funda- 
mental principle  of  the  righteousness  which  he 
demanded,  and  a  moment's  thought  will  make  it 
clear  that  he  was  right;  for  this  principle  of 
action  from  loving  motives  would  be  immediately 


IS  CHRISTIANITY  THE  BEST  RELIGION?     15 

derivable  from  the  definition  of  righteousness  which 
we  have  agreed  upon.  How  remarkable  it  was 
that  Jesus  had  this  clear  perception  of  the  nature 
of  righteousness,  when  the  current  teaching  of  his 
day  and  his  people  was  so  different,  need  not  here 
be  dwelt  upon. 

Although,  as  we  have  seen,  Jesus  did  not  teach 
asceticism,  he  did  insist  upon  righteousness  and 
love  to  others,  with  all  that  that  involved  of  self- 
sacrifice,  self-denial,  and  self-restraint,  as  the  first 
condition  of  God's  approval  and  man's  happiness 
and  welfare.  Righteousness — love  for  others 
shown  by  word  and  deed — and  not  any  particular 
form  of  ceremony  or  creed,  was  the  test,  in  the 
great  judgment  scene  which  he  so  dramatically 
pictured  as  the  time  of  decision  of  the  fate  of 
men  and  nations. 

The  teaching  of  Jesus  about  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  shows  that  this  kingdom  was  something 
to  be  progressively  realized  on  earth  by  men 
governed  by  the  spirit  of  love  to  God  and  one 
another.  It  was  not  primarily  an  ideal  for  the 
life  after  death,  but  something  that  was  already 
coming  in  the  experiences  of  his  disciples  and  was 
to  spread  from  them  like  the  yeast  in  the  three 
measures  of  meal.  Thus  Jesus  united  in  his 
faith  and  teaching  the  ideal  of  individual  satisfac- 
tion, social  harmony,  and  divine  perfection,  the 
highest  appeal  to  the  intellect,  feelings,  and  will. 


1 6     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

Righteousness  and  love  were  the  key  words  in 
all  three. 

7.  The  authority  to  which  Jesus  appealed  was 
always  that  of  the  reason  and  the  conscience,  and 
whenever  tradition,  even  the  most  sacred,  con- 
flicted with  these,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  forsake 
tradition. — Tradition  in  religion  opposes  truth  and 
progress  in  two  ways.  First,  it  often  conflicts 
with  the  truth  about  right  conduct.  The  religion 
of  a  hundred  years  ago  approved  or  at  any 
rate  did  not  condemn  certain  kinds  of  action 
which  are  now  seen  to  have  evil  results,  and  there- 
fore to  be  morally  wrong.  Then,  these  results 
may  not  have  been  apparent,  and  the  action 
may  have  been  so  much  of  an  improvement 
over  previous  action  as  to  be  right  at  that  time. 
But  now  the  man  who  receives  the  religion,  and 
with  it  the  views  of  right  and  wrong  of  a  hundred 
years  ago,  must  choose  between  this  teaching  of 
religious  tradition  and  the  voice  of  his  conscience. 
The  general  approval  of  slavery  in  the  United 
States  a  century  ago  is  an  instance  of  religious 
tradition  which  came  to  be  in  conflict  with 
conscience.  We  should  understand  that  tradi- 
tion indicates  any  teaching  or  custom  which  is 
"handed  down"  from  one  generation  to  another, 
whether  true  or  false,  and  that  it  may  be 
very  good,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Bible.  The 
danger  is  that  it  may  be  held  sacred  and  right 


IS  CHRISTIANITY  THE  BEST  RELIGION?     17 

because  it  has  come  down  from  previous  ages, 
instead  of  because  it  is  confirmed  by  reason  and 
conscience. 

The  second  way  in  which  tradition  often  opposes 
truth  is  with  respect  to  teaching  concerned  directly 
with  religious  belief  or  ceremonial.  For  example, 
a  certain  creed  expressed,  a  hundred  years  ago, 
the  highest  thought  of  man  about  God,  and  a 
certain  ceremonial  form  seemed  most  suitable  to 
the  true  worship  of  God.  Now,  the  language 
and  ideas  of  people  have  changed  in  many  impor- 
tant respects  and  the  creed  of  that  day  is  not  and 
carmot  be  understood  in  the  same  way  as  it  was 
then.  In  certain  ways,  also,  our  ideas  of  God  are 
clearer  and  higher  now  than  then,  so  that  the 
creed  has  not  now  the  intrinsic  authority  of  its 
appeal  to  reason  and  conscience  that  it  had.  But 
tradition  insists  on  its  acceptance  on  the  implicit 
ground  of  the  authority  which  it  formerly  had,  not 
recognizing  that  the  basis  of  that  authority  has 
passed  away. 

Jesus'  constant  appeal  to  the  reason  and  con- 
science is  reflected  with  special  emphasis  in  the 
Fourth  Gospel,  where  the  words  "  true  "  and  ''  truth" 
recur  so  frequently.  He  appealed  to  the  evidence 
of  his  works,  to  the  witness  that  God  bore  to  him 
(how  else  than  by  his  Spirit  in  their  minds  and 
hearts,  making  the  truth  plain  to  those  who  would 
receive  it?);  and  when  he  appealed  to  the  Scrip- 


i8     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

tures  for  confirmation  of  the  truth  of  his  words 
it  was  either  to  point  out  the  inconsistency  of  those 
who  found  fault  with  him  while  they  professed 
the  greatest  reverence  for  the  Scriptures,  or  to 
quote  some  passage  the  truth  of  which  was  evident 
quite  apart  from  the  authority  of  its  source.  He 
said  that  he  came  to  fulfil  the  Scriptures,  but,  inter- 
preting those  words  by  his  life,  we  must  find  them 
to  mean  that  he  was  to  show  the  deeper  and  truer 
meaning  of  them  by  his  life  and  teaching,  rejecting 
or  revising  that  in  them  which  was  only  temporary 
in  its  value. 

Jesus'  rejection  or  revision,  not  only  of  the 
teachings  of  the  scribes  and  rabbis  but  also  of  the 
Scriptures  when  they  came  into  conflict  with  truth 
and  right,  is  illustrated  in  his  teaching  about 
marriage  and  divorce,  about  "Korban,"  about 
ceremonial  defilement  in  eating  with  unwashed 
hands  or  eating  meats  that  were  ceremonially 
unclean.  It  is  shown  also  in  his  reinterpretation 
of  old  commandments  in  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  where  he  goes  from  the  outward  act  to 
the  inward  motive.  "Ye  have  heard  that  it 
hath  been  said" — that  was  the  authority  of  tra- 
dition— ''but  I  say  unto  you" — that  was  not 
merely  an  appeal  to  his  own  authority,  but  rather 
his  interpretation  of  the  will  of  God  enforced  by 
an  appeal  to  their  own  perception  of  how  God 
actually  works  in  the  world. 


IS  CHRISTIANITY  THE  BEST  RELIGION  ?     19 

8.  Since  the  characteristic  features  of  the  life 
and  teaching  of  Jesus  have  remained  vital  in 
Christianity  and  are  the  principles  of  the  best 
religion,  Christianity  must  be  in  essence  the  best 
and  the  final  religion. — We  have  seen  in  the  last 
sections  that  the  principles  of  the  life  and  teaching 
of  Jesus  are  those  of  the  best  religion,  the  one 
giving  largest  satisfaction  to  the  intellect,  emotions, 
and  will  of  the  individual  and  having  the  strongest 
tendency  to  make  men  righteous.  A  study  of 
church  history  would  show  that  these  principles 
were  effective  in  the  early  organization  of  the 
church  and  development  of  its  systems  of  teaching; 
that,  although  they  have  often  been  lost  sight  of 
by  the  ecclesiastical  authorities  and  perhaps  the 
larger  body  of  adherents  of  the  church,  they  have 
yet  survived  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of  a  ''rem- 
nant" at  all  times  and  come  into  prominence  in 
the  lives  and  teachings  of  the  great  prophets  and 
reformers  of  the  church  from  time  to  time.  They 
were  the  underlying  principles  of  the  great  refor- 
mation which  commenced  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, and  are  again  today  being  understood  more 
clearly  than  ever  before. 

It  is  of  great  importance  to  note  that,  however 
these  principles  have  been  lost  from  view  for  a 
time  in  the  history  of  the  church,  there  never  was 
a  time  when  the  life  and  words  of  Jesus  were  not 
regarded,  theoretically  at  least,  as  of  fundamental 


20     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

value  to  the  church.  And  the  fact  that  the  Gospels 
have  from  the  first  century  preserved  this  picture 
of  Jesus  and  record  of  his  words  in  which  these 
principles  are  so  evident  has  made  a  reformation 
and  purification  of  Christian  life  and  doctrine 
possible  and  often  inevitable.  They  have  thus 
been  the  vital  principles  of  Christianity  throughout 
its  history.  And  by  this  history  the  practical 
value  or  "workableness"  of  these  principles  has 
been  shown. 

A  comparison  of  the  moral,  intellectual,  and 
social  conditions  in  countries  dominated  by 
Roman  Catholicism  (in  which  form  of  Christianity 
these  principles  have  been  much  less  clearly 
recognized  and  effective  than  in  Protestantism, 
and  in  which  the  authority  of  tradition  and  of  the 
hierarchy  and  papacy  have  often  been  opposed  to 
the  authority  of  reason  and  conscience),  with  cor- 
responding conditions  in  countries  where  Protes- 
tant Christianity  has  more  largely  determined 
conditions,  and  in  which  these  principles  have 
been  much  more  completely  recognized,  will  be  a 
very  strong  argument  for  the  value  of  these  prin- 
ciples and  the  view  that  Protestantism  is  much 
truer  to  the  spirit  and  essence  of  Christianity 
than  Romanism. 

Granting  that  Christianity  is  the  best  religion 
that  the  world  knows,  the  question  may  still  be 
raised  by  some  whether  it  may  not  some  time  be 


IS  CHRISTIANITY  THE  BEST  RELIGION?     21 

superseded  by  another  still  better.  It  would  be 
very  unwise  in  the  face  of  history,  even  of  Chris- 
tian history,  to  predict  permanence  for  any  detailed 
system  of  doctrine.  Although  in  the  following 
pages  we  give  in  reasonable  detail  the  elements 
which  seem  to  flow  from  the  fundamental  principles 
of  the  best  religion,  as  they  have  been  developed 
within  Christianity  up  to  the  present  tune,  it  is 
not  with  the  thought  that  no  modification  of  any 
of  them  will  be  found  necessary  in  the  future, 
but  rather  that  they  fairly  state  the  highest  posi- 
tions that  have  yet  been  reached,  and,  by  the 
criticism  of  careful  thought  and  the  testing  of  time, 
will  lead  to  still  clearer  views  of  truth  in  the  future. 

But  we  have  found  Christianity  to  be  in  essence 
identical  with  the  best  religion,  and  that  its  essen- 
tial principles  have  proved  their  value  and  appli- 
cability to  human  nature  as  it  is  for  nearly  two 
thousand  years.  We  must  therefore  hold  that 
this  essential  Christianity  is  the  highest  and  best 
religion  and  destined  to  be  permanent  and  final. 

If  it  be  granted  that  Christianity  is  the  highest 
form  of  religion  to  which  the  world  has  attained, 
and  that  its  essence  is  that  of  the  best  conceivable 
religion,  we  may  also  say  that  the  final  religion 
must  be  continuous  with  Christianity  as  we  now 
have  it,  in  substance  of  doctrine  and  spirit  if  not 
in  form  of  organization.  It  must  be  our  Chris- 
tianity perfected  according  to  its  true  nature,  as 


2  2     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

the  child  when  it  develops  rightly  matures  into 
the  perfect  man  or  woman.  For,  as  has  been 
noted  in  section  4,  the  religion  of  the  future  must 
always  be  built  upon  that  of  the  present — there 
can  never  be  a  gap  in  the  development.  This 
is  a  reason  for  patience  with  the  slow-changing 
forms  of  Christianity  which  we  know  today  and 
the  faithful  effort  to  develop  them  rightly  from 
within  rather  than  to  break  away  from  them  and 
organize  new  forms  which  would  embody  the 
truth  in  a  purer  and  more  complete  way.  Such 
breaks  are  sometimes  necessary,  but  the  scan- 
dalous multiplicity  of  Christian  sects  and  all  the 
evils  of  sectarian  strife  and  misunderstanding 
show  that  there  is  a  very  serious  danger  in  such 
impatience  with  the  slower  progress  of  established 
organizations.  The  great  movements  of  today 
toward  the  reuniting  of  Christian  organizations 
are  one  of  the  proofs  of  the  presence  in  them  of 
the  spirit  of  truth  and  love. 

Christianity  possesses  two  concrete  elements 
whose  value  for  its  growth  and  permanence  is  of 
immense  and  peculiar  value.  The  first  is  the 
person  and  teaching  of  Jesus  as  described  in  the 
New  Testament.  The  central  place  in  Buddhism 
of  Gautama  and  in  Mohammedanism  of  Mahomet 
is  in  many  respects  similar  to  that  of  Jesus  in 
Christianity.  But  while  in  the  case  of  the  two 
first-named    forms,  adherence    to    the   principles 


IS  CHRISTIANITY  THE  BEST  RELIGION?     23 

and  ideals  of  the  founder  must  ever  prevent  the 
attainment  of  the  best  religion,  in  the  case  of 
Christianity  the  life  and  teachings  of  its  founder 
are  still  far  beyond  what  has  been  practically 
realized  and  attained  in  the  history  of  the  religion 
which  he  founded,  and  are  of  such  a  nature  that  we 
cannot  conceive  of  them  being  susperseded  or 
surpassed.  Abstract  principles  are  always  in 
danger  of  being  lost  in  the  forms  in  which  they 
are  stated  or  in  the  minds  of  those  who  have  not 
learned  to  grasp  or  to  value  principles  in  abstract 
form.  But  a  definite,  divine,  heroic  figure,  with 
a  name  and  history  easily  grasped,  whose  life 
illustrates  such  abstract  principles  in  ways  readily 
understood  by  the  simplest  and  most  unlearned, 
is  of  inestimable  value  in  the  maintenance  of  such 
principles  as  living  forces  among  men. 

The  second  concrete  element  making  for  the 
permanence  of  Christianity  is  the  Bible.  Again 
we  may  compare  it  with  Islam,  i.e.,  Mohammedan- 
ism, which  in  place  of  the  Bible  has  the  Koran. 
The  latter,  while  of  great  and  positive  value  at 
the  time  it  was  written,  to  the  people  whose 
religious  beliefs  and  practices  had  been  decidedly 
lower  than  those  it  inculcated,  has  nevertheless 
been  an  absolute  hindrance  to  growth  and  progress 
among  those  who  held  it  sacred.  The  Bible,  on 
the  other  hand,  has  had  a  most  favorable  influence 
on  progress  in  every  line,  and  when  rightly  used 
should  continue  to  do  so  in  the  future  as  well  as, 


24     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

or  even  better  than,  in  the  past.  The  peculiar 
value,  nature,  and  proper  use  of  the  Bible  are 
considered  in  the  next  chapters. 

In  order  that  we  may  be  able  to  distinguish 
the  permanent,  valuable,  and  true  elements  in 
Christian  faith  from  temporary  or  erroneous  forms 
or  elements  which  in  the  course  of  history  have 
become  associated  with  it,  we  shall  need  to  con- 
sider further  some  principles  for  the  testing  of 
religious  teaching,  and  the  basis  for  our  confidence 
that  we  may  come  to  the  real  truth  in  our  study. 
This  is  done  in  the  remaining  sections  of  this 
chapter. 

9.  Religious  teachings  with  regard  to  facts  or 
principles,  which  cannot  be  verified  through  the 
senses  or  the  personal  experience  of  the  individ- 
ual, belong  to  the  realm  of  faith,  and  should  be 
distinguished  from  those  which  are  thus  verifiable 
and  so  belong  to  the  realm  of  knowledge  in  the 
technical  sense. — By  knowledge  in  the  technical 
sense  we  mean  those  opinions  as  to  facts  and  prin- 
ciples which  a  man  cannot  doubt  when  the  proper 
evidence  has  been  presented  to  him — in  the 
acceptance  of  the  truth  of  which  a  man  has  no 
choice.  When  we  once  understand  them,  we 
cannot  doubt  the  truth  of  mathematics  and  logic, 
the  so-called  formal  sciences.  They,  however, 
give  us  no  information  about  any  particular 
thuigs,   but   enable  us   to   use  such   information 


IS  CHRISTIANITY  THE  BEST  RELIGION?     25 

rightly  only  when  we  have  obtained  it  in  other 
ways.     Aside    from    these    formal    sciences,    all 
knowledge  comes  to  us   through  our  senses,   or 
from   our   immediate   consciousness   of   our   own 
feelings  or  other  experiences.     I  cannot  doubt  the 
real  existence  of  the  impressions  of  sight  and  sound, 
smell,  touch,  etc.,  and  of  feelings  of  comfort  or  pain, 
and  the  thoughts  that  pass  through  my  mind  m 
dreams  or  waking  hours.     Practically,  I   cannot 
doubt  the  existence  of  the  objects  of  my  sense- 
experiences,  of  the  chair  which  I  see,  the  type- 
writer which  I  hear,  and  the  tooth  which  aches. 
There  are  many  things  which  belong  to  the 
realm  of  knowledge  which  I  know  only  indirectly, 
but   they   are   things   which   I   might  know,   or, 
might  have  known  directly  if  I  had  been  in  the 
position  of  other  human  beings  whose  knowledge 
of   them   was   immediate,    and   from   whom   my 
knowledge    comes.     For   instance,    I   know    that 
there  is  a  city  Jerusalem,  although  I  have  not  yet 
seen  it.     But  I  have  the  best  reason  to  believe 
that  I  might  see  it  if  I  took  the  time  and  trouble 
and  could  meet  the  expense.     My  evidence  of  its 
existence  comes  to  me  still  through  my  senses, 
although  it  is  not  direct.     The  books  I  read,  and 
the  things  I  hear  from  people  whom  my  eyes  see, 
give  me  evidence  that  there  is  such  a  city,  and  I 
am   practically   compelled   to   believe   it   just   as 
certainly  by  this  indirect  evidence  as  if  I  saw  the 


26     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

city  myself.  And  even  if  the  evidence  were  not 
absolutely  convincing,  the  matter  would  still 
belong  to  the  realm  of  knowledge.  Suppose  I 
had  only  the  report  of  the  author  of  some  old 
book  on  the  subject.  If  I  had  good  reason  to 
believe  that  the  book  was  authentic  and  the  author 
truthful,  I  should  still  believe  it  as  fully  as  if  a 
hundred  men  had  witnessed  to  its  existence.  If 
I  had  doubts  about  the  book  or  its  author  I  might 
doubt  the  existence  of  the  city  for  that  reason; 
but  my  opinion  about  it  is  still  dependent  on  the 
evidence  which  comes  to  my  senses,  and  not  on 
my  choice,  and  further  evidence  might  settle  the 
matter  for  me  one  way  or  the  other.  In  the  same 
way  I  know  that  a  man  named  Jesus  lived  in 
Palestine  many  years  ago.  I  cannot  absolutely 
verify  his  existence  by  my  senses  now,  but  have, 
nevertheless,  evidence  through  them  that  if  I  had 
been  in  Palestine  at  the  right  time  I  might  have 
seen  him  with  my  own  eyes,  and  heard  his  voice 
with  my  own  ears. 

We  should  understand  that  a  matter  may  belong 
to  the  realm  of  knowledge  even  though  our  own 
opinion  about  it  may  be  erroneous.  One  man  may 
believe  that  the  city  of  Troy  as  described  by 
Homer  and  Virgil  really  existed,  and  another 
that  it  never  really  existed.  So  far  as  the  opinions 
have  any  value  at  all,  they  are  founded  on  evidence 
presented  to  the  senses  of  the  men  holding  them, 


IS  CHRISTIANITY  THE  BEST  RELIGION?     27 

and  are  in  each  case  held  involuntarily — not 
because  the  men  wish  to  hold  them,  but  because 
the  evidence  of  their  senses  seems  to  warrant 
their  opinions.  If  the  evidence  could  be  made 
complete  and  perfect,  both  men  would  be  compelled 
to  come  to  the  same  opinion  and  that  the  right  one. 

We  should  understand  that,  as  to  knowledge  of 
our  own  thoughts  and  feelings,  what  we  cannot 
doubt  is  that  we  have  them — we  can  doubt  whether 
or  not  they  are  true.  For  instance,  I  know  that 
I  have  had  a  certain  dream.  But  I  cannot  know 
that  it  represents  any  truth  with  regard  to  present 
or  future  conditions  in  the  outer  world,  just  because 
I  have  dreamt  it.  If  I  believe  that  it  does,  that 
is  a  matter  of  faith  and  not  knowledge.  So  I 
may  know  that  certain  events  have  happened  after 
my  prayer,  and  may  believe  that  they  happened 
because  God  heard  my  prayer,  but  my  belief  with 
regard  to  God  is  a  matter  of  faith  and  not  of 
knowledge.  A  man  who  does  not  doubt  my 
account  of  my  prayer  and  the  events  which  followed 
may  nevertheless  doubt  the  existence  of  God. 

Faith,  then,  is  the  conviction  which  a  man 
arrives  at  as  an  interpretation  of  experience,  but 
which  itself  cannot  be  absolutely  established  by 
the  senses  or  any  personal  experience.  When  all 
the  evidences  which  my  senses  could  receive  had 
been  presented,  I  might  still  hold  that  some  other 
explanation  of  the  existence  of  the  universe  was  the 


28     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

true  one,  than  that  it  was  to  be  explained  by  the 
existence  of  a  God  such  as  the  Christian  believes 
in.  The  view  which  I  hold  is  not  so  involuntary 
as  in  the  case  of  sense-knowledge.  It  is  dependent 
on  the  significance  which  I  attribute  to  certain  ex- 
periences above  other  experiences,  and  the  value 
which  the  one  opinion  has  for  me  above  the  other. 
All  theories  of  science  as  well  as  religion  which  are 
used  to  explain  and  to  handle  facts  and  experiences, 
but  cannot  be  fully  confirmed  by  the  senses  or 
personal  experience  of  the  individual,  belong  to 
the  realm  of  faith  in  this  technical  sense.  All  the 
most  important  teachings  of  religion  belong  to  the 
realm  of  faith  and  not  of  knowledge. 

Some  people  distinguish  between  religious 
belief  and  faith,  making  the  latter  personal  trust 
or  confidence  and  commitment  to  God.  The 
question  is  here  one  of  the  use  of  words.  Every 
author  has  the  right  to  use  his  terms  in  the  way 
which  seems  to  him  best,  provided  he  makes  his 
meaning  plain.  The  use  which  is  made  of  these 
terms  in  this  book  is  here  defined  and  should  be 
clearly  understood.  It  is  quite  true  that  a  man 
may  hold  certain  opinions  about  God,  correspond- 
ing to  those  of  Christianity,  without  having  a 
personal  trust  in  God,  and  being  a  real  Christian. 
We  should  say,  however,  that  such  an  attitude 
is  possible  only  when  such  opinions  are  held  only 
part  of  the  time,  and  in  a  weak  way;  and  that  it 


IS  CHRISTIANITY  THE  BEST  RELIGION?     29 

is  impossible  for  a  man  constantly  to  believe  the 
Christian  teaching  about  God,  without  the  personal 
commitment  of  self  to  him  which  some  would 
denote  by  the  term  faith. 

When  it  is  seen  that  a  man  cannot  be  certain 
of  the  truth  of  religion  (in  the  sense  of  being  com- 
pelled to  believe  its  teachings  and  unable  to 
doubt  them,  or  to  accept  alternative  theories  in 
explanation  of  his  experience),  there  is  danger 
that  a  man  will  say:  Then  I  can  never  be  sure  of 
having  the  true  religion,  and  need  not  concern 
myself  about  it;  no  one  can  require  me  to  have 
any  particular  religious  faith,  since  he  cannot  prove 
that  it  is  true.  But  this  would  be  a  very  foolish 
position.  We  could  do  hardly  anything  of  con- 
sequence in  this  world  without  acting  on  faith, 
that  is,  on  theories  the  truth  of  which  can  never 
be  demonstrated  to  the  senses.  And  the  theories 
of  religion  are  the  most  important  ones  for  life 
which  a  man  can  hold,  and  while  they  never  become 
knowledge  in  the  technical  sense,  their  truth  may 
yet  be  made  so  clear  as  to  make  their  acceptance 
the  only  sensible  thing  for  a  man  to  do.  The  tests 
and  principles  of  religious  faith  are  further  made 
clear  in  the  following  sections. 

10.  A  religious  faith  should  be  reasonable,  that 
is,  its  elements  should  not  contradict  each  other 
or  the  testimony  of  the  senses  or  the  facts  of 
human  experience. — Two  statements  which  con- 


30     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

tradict  each  other  cannot  both  be  true.  There- 
fore, as  we  are  looking  for  a  true  faith,  we  must 
strive  to  get  rid  of  contradiction  in  its  various 
parts.  This  may  seem  so  evident  as  not  to  be 
worth  mentioning,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  probably 
the  faith  of  most  people  involves  more  or  less 
contradiction  which  is  not  recognized.  A  man 
believes  one  thing  at  one  time,  and  another  con- 
tradictory thing  at  another;  and  because  he  does 
not  think  of  both  at  the  same  time  and  compare 
them,  he  does  not  realize  that  one  of  them  must  be 
false.  Thus  contradictions  have  even  crept  into 
certain  forms  of  Christian  teaching,  and  sometimes 
been  maintained  there  in  spite  of  evident  incom- 
patibiHty,  the  difficulty  being  overcome  by  calling 
it  a  mystery  beyond  the  reach  of  himian  reason. 
While  there  is  a  great  deal  of  truth  which  is  beyond 
the  reach  of  human  reason,  it  does  no  one  any  good 
to  try  to  believe  what  evidently  cannot  be  true. 

It  should  also  be  clear  that  a  good  faith  should 
not  contradict  our  experiences.  We  may  believe 
something  about  the  future  which  is  very  different 
from  anything  which  we  experience  at  present. 
The  fact  that  we  have  not  experienced  a  thing  in 
no  wise  proves  that  we  may  not  experience  it  in 
the  future,  or  that  others  may  not  have  experienced 
it  in  the  past.  But  we  should  not  deny  in  our 
faith  that  which  we  know  to  be  true  in  our 
experience.    For  example,  Christian  Science  denies 


IS  CHRISTIANITY  THE  BEST  RELIGION?     31 

the  existence  of  pain,  sin,  disease,  and  death.  In 
so  far  it  is  not  a  good  faith,  for  we  know  that 
these  things  exist,  and  to  say  that  they  do  not, 
involves  at  the  best  mental  confusion,  for  every- 
one knows  that  what  we  mean  by  these  terms 
does  exist.  Indeed,  the  chief  appeal  which  Chris- 
tian Science  makes  for  acceptance  is  to  the  fact 
that  pain  and  disease  are  cured  by  its  ministra- 
tions, and  thus  it  acknowledges  in  practice  what 
it  denies  in  theory.  We  cannot  doubt  that 
Christian  Science  has  good  and  truth  in  it,  for 
our  senses  confirm  its  claims  to  have  relieved  pain 
and  disease  in  certain  cases,  and  to  have  aided 
people  to  come  to  peace  and  contentment  from 
conditions  of  worry  and  anxiety.  We  must  say 
that  this  good  comes  from  elements  of  truth  and 
value  in  it,  and  not  from  its  contradictions,  and 
that  it  would  be  a  much  better  faith  if  it  were  so 
corrected  as  to  be  truly  reasonable.  Truth  is 
one.  There  can  be  no  real  contradiction  in  it 
anywhere,  and  to  deny  the  truth  that  we  receive 
through  the  senses  in  our  daily  experience  is  to 
brand  our  minds  as  altogether  unreliable  and  to 
assert  that  we  can  never  be  sure  that  any  thought 
which  we  have  is  true.  In  science  and  all  other 
departments  of  life  we  demand  that  thought  be 
reasonable.  Religious  faith  must  meet  and  accede 
to  the  same  demand  if  it  would  supply  the  needs 
of  modern  life. 


32     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

II.  The  instinct  which  makes  us  accept  the 
faith  which  gives  the  deepest  personal  satisfaction, 
or  hold  our  highest  ideals  to  be  real,  is  worthy 
of  confidence  and  leads  to  the  best  faith. — We 
are  constantly  exercising  our  judgment  in  choice 
between  the  various  experiences  possible  to  us,  the 
various  things  offered  to  us,  and  selecting  those 
which  seem  to  us  best.  The  food  that  tastes  best, 
the  music  that  pleases  most,  the  friend  who  is  most 
congenial — these  we  all  prefer  and  take  if  we  can 
get.  It  is  not  otherwise  with  faith.  When  we 
are  in  health  of  body  and  mind  we  put  the  best 
interpretation  upon  life  which  we  can,  and  the 
better  the  interpretation,  the  more  we  enjoy  the 
life.  But  this  interpretation  of  life  in  its  widest 
sweep  is  religious  faith;  and  the  acceptance  of 
that  interpretation  of  life  which  yields  the  greatest 
satisfaction  to  the  mind,  the  feelings,  and  the 
conscience  is  the  holding  of  our  highest  ideals  to 
be  real.  But  the  very  fact  that  this  religious  faith 
or  this  theory  of  life  gives  us  what  we  desire  is 
strongest  evidence  of  its  truth,  just  as  the  truth 
of  any  theory  is  confirmed  by  the  attainment, 
through  its  application,  of  results  sought  for. 

In  individual  cases  circumstances  will  prevent 
the  recognition  of  that  which  is  best  in  any  depart- 
ment of  fife.  Tastes  are  formed  and  habits 
established,  prejudices  accepted,  in  early  life, 
which  make  the  recognition  of  that  which  is  really 


IS  CHRISTIANITY  THE  BEST  RELIGION?     33 

better,  difficult  or  impossible  in  later  life.  In 
religion  the  conservative  elements  are  perhaps 
stronger  than  in  any  other  region  of  thought  and 
interest,  but  here  too  life  and  growth  will  always 
show  themselves  by  choosing  the  better  when  it 
can  be  made  plain  that  it  is  better. 

12.  The  social  value  of  the  best  faith,  that  is, 
its  power  to  make  men  righteous,  is  a  guaranty  of 
its  truth. — "No  man  liveth  to  himself  and  no  man 
dieth  to  himself."  My  Hfe  is  immeasurably  af- 
fected by  the  lives  of  other  men,  and  affects  them 
probably  more  than  I  imagine.  As  we  have  seen, 
the  inmost  meaning  of  righteousness  is  that  char- 
acter which  acts  from  love  to  others.  It  needs  no 
argument  to  show  that  it  will  be  best  for  me  to  have 
others  righteous  in  character,  i.e.,  loving  toward 
me,  and  best  for  others  if  I  shall  be  righteous, 
loving  toward  them.  As  the  best  interests  of 
each  demand  that  all  the  rest  shall  be  righteous, 
so  evidently  the  religion  which  has  the  strongest 
tendency  to  make  men  righteous  will  have  the 
greatest  social  value.  If  there  is  any  such  unity 
in  the  spiritual  world  as  in  the  physical,  then  we 
should  hold  that  that  theory  which  is  the  best  for 
all  in  general  is  also  best  for  each  in  particular, 
and  that  it  is  not  only  best  for  me  that  every- 
one else  should  be  righteous  but  also  that  I  my- 
self should  be.  The  laws  of  physics,  chemistry, 
biology,  and   the  other  sciences  are  universal — 


34     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

apply  equally  to  all — and  no  man  can  gain  by 
ignoring  for  himself  the  rules  that  he  recognizes 
to  be  appHcable  to  others.  We  are  justified,  then, 
in  saying  that  the  rule  which  works  best  for  society 
will  work  best  for  each  individual,  and  the  faith 
which  has  the  greatest  social  value  will  be  finally 
the  same  as  that  which  has  the  greatest  individual 
value.  The  fact  of  such  value,  then,  is  the  evidence 
of  its  truth,  just  as  in  the  case  of  every  theory  the 
evidence  of  the  truth  of  the  theory  is  in  giving 
such  an  explanation  of  experience  as  to  enable  us 
to  gain  for  the  future  the  desired  results  in  expe- 
rience. The  final  proof  of  faith  lies  in  its  value. 
The  key  is  true  if  it  unlocks  the  door.  The  road 
is  right  if  it  brings  the  man  home.  The  lamp  is 
real  if  it  dispels  the  darkness.  The  faith  is  firm- 
founded  if  it  transfigures  the  life. 

The  two  tests  of  faith  which  are  most  practical 
and  easy  to  apply  are  those  of  reasonableness  and 
tendency  to  make  men  righteous.  While  we  need 
not  neglect  the  other  elements  of  personal  satis- 
faction, we  shall  be  more  independent  of  individual 
error  and  variation  if  we  consider  mainly  the 
intellectual  and  social  value  of  an  article  of  faith, 
assuming  that  that  which  is  reasonable  and  helps 
toward  righteousness  will  also  yield  the  greatest 
satisfaction  to  each  individual. 

13.  Everyone  is  bound  to  accept  the  best  faith 
he  can  find.— It  is  just  as  truly  a  man's  duty  to 


IS  CHRISTIANITY  THE  BEST  RELIGION?     35 

believe  in  God,  if  that  can  be  shown  to  be  the  best 
faith,  as  for  him  to  pay  his  just  debts,  or  work 
honestly  for  his  living.  All  must  admit  that  there 
is  such  a  thing  as  duty,  and  that  the  sum  of  all 
duties  is  to  do  absolutely  right.  The  duty  to  do 
right  carries  with  it  the  duty  to  use  all  proper 
means  within  one's  power  to  help  one  to  do  right. 
The  mightiest  power  to  help  a  man  to  do  right  is 
that  of  true  religious  faith.  This  is  one  implication 
of  the  famous  doctrine  of  Protestantism  which 
Luther  received  from  Paul,  ''justification  by  faith  " ; 
namely,  that  right  faith  directs  and  transforms  Hfe. 

n  circumstances  should  arise  so  that  it  is 
clearly  my  duty  to  get  from  Chicago  to  New  York 
as  soon  as  possible,  and  I  have  physical  power  to 
go  on  foot,  and  money  to  pay  my  fare  on  the  fastest 
train,  it  is  clearly  my  duty  to  take  the  train.  It 
is  no  excuse  to  say  that  I  am  doing  my  duty  if 
I  start  out  on  foot  and  run  as  fast  as  I  can.  So 
whatever  I  take  to  be  my  duty  to  my  fellow-men, 
to  be  the  completely  righteous  life  for  me,  I  am 
not  doing  my  duty  if  I  strive  to  live  this  righteous 
life  without  religious  faith,  for  with  that  faith  I 
might  make  much  more  rapid  progress  in  the 
righteous  life. 

Let  it  again  be  noted  that  by  our  definition 
the  best  faith  is  one  which  can  he  accepted.  It  is 
one  which  is  reasonable  and  against  which  no  proof 
(I  do  not  say  no  evidence,  but  no  proof)  can  be 


36     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

brought.  No  man  can  be  required  by  his  duty 
to  do  that  which  is  impossible,  and  one  impossible 
thing  for  an  intelligent  man  is  to  hold  that  to  be 
true  which  his  mind  pronounces  false.  We  realize 
that  the  human  mind  is  very  liable  to  error,  and 
that  it  is  both  possible  for  an  intelligent,  even  a 
learned,  man  to  hold  that  to  be  unreasonable  which 
is  really  reasonable,  and  to  maintain  the  reasonable- 
ness of  that  which  really  involves  contradiction 
and  error.  It  remains  true,  however,  that  each 
man  must  use  his  own  reason  and  moral  judgment 
to  direct  his  Hfe,  and  experience  justifies  us  in 
holding  that  this  individual  judgment,  honestly 
exercised,  will  not  lead  men  into  ever-greater 
diversity  of  faith  and  life,  but  rather  to  ever  more 
harmonious  and  lofty  faith  and  life. 

The  principles  of  religious  faith  set  forth  in 
this  book  are  presented  to  be  carefully  considered 
by  each  individual  and  accepted  in  so  far  as  they 
are  found  to  be  reasonable  and  helpful.  The 
author  believes  them  to  be  substantially  the  highest 
views  of  Christian  teaching  as  it  has  been  revealed 
through  Christ  and  the  experience  of  the  church 
from  his  day  to  the  present,  but  that  in  the  future 
they  will  doubtless  be  still  further  improved  in 
some  ways. 

From  whatever  point  of  view  our  religious  be- 
liefs are  considered,  whether  as  an  attainment  of 
man  or  a  revelation  of  God,  it  must  be  recognized 


IS  CHRISTIANITY  THE  BEST  RELIGION?     37 

that  they  have  been  acquired  only  gradually. 
Geometry  was  not  always  known  as  it  is  today. 
Before  anything  like  our  geometry  was  known  to 
the  world,  certain  geometrical  relations  were  per- 
ceived more  or  less  clearly  by  the  artisans  and 
builders  of  early  ages.  Although  their  knowledge 
was  very  imperfect,  it  would  have  been  only 
folly  to  have  rejected  it  for  that  reason.  In 
so  far  as  it  enabled  men  to  build  successfully, 
it  was  not  only  useful  but  true,  although  mixed 
with  imperfection  or  error.  So  today  we  must 
accept  the  highest  form  of  religious  faith  which 
has  been  and  can  be  attained,  although  acknowl- 
edging that  further  development  and  growth  is  still 
probable. 

An  objection  to  the  method  of  determining  the 
substance  of  religious  faith — of  finding  that  which 
is  true  and  that  which  contains  error  in  Christian 
teaching — which  has  been  explained  in  the  pre- 
ceding sections,  will  occur  to  many  earnest  Chris- 
tians. They  might  say  that  it  ignores  God  and 
his  revelation,  without  which  we  cannot  come  to 
divine  truth;  that  it  is  subjective,  individualistic; 
that  the  result  will  be  a  man-made  God,  instead  of 
a  self-revealed  God,  for  man  to  worship  and  obey. 
These  objections  will  be  seen  to  be  groundless  as 
we  proceed  with  our  study,  but  it  will  be  well  to 
give  a  brief  answer  to  them  here  in  order,  if  possible, 
to  remove  any  prejudice  to  further  study. 


38     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

The  religious  interpretation  of  the  method  we 
have  outHned  is  a  thoroughly  biblical  and  Christian 
one;  it  is  the  principle  of  the  guidance  of  man  by 
the  Spirit  of  God,  or  the  immanence  of  God  in 
the  minds  and  hearts  of  men.  The  Bible  teaches 
that  the  Spirit  of  God  is  the  ''light  that  lighteth 
every  man  coming  into  the  world";  that  the 
breath  of  life  breathed  into  man  at  his  creation, 
or  the  image  of  God  in  which  he  made  man,  is 
his  reason  and  conscience,  those  divine  powers  in 
him,  through  which  God  reveals  to  him  his  truth 
and  wins  him  to  himself.  These  powers  of  reason 
and  conscience  or  moral  judgment  which  we  have 
made  the  tests  for  every  man  of  religious  truth  are 
the  only  conceivable  means  by  which  God  could 
reveal  his  truth  to  men;  and  every  honest  search 
for  those  principles  which  ennoble  life  and  develop 
in  character  that  marvelous  fruit  of  *'love,  joy, 
peace,  long-suffering,  gentleness,  goodness,  faith, 
meekness,  temperance"  is  evidence  of  the  re- 
vealing and  inspiring  activity  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
And  the  Christian  should  hold  this  to  be  true  even 
where  the  person  in  whom  these  forces  are  active 
has  at  first  no  clear  faith  in  God.  It  is  not  less 
God's  activity  because  it  is  not  recognized  as  such. 

At  the  same  time  our  method  is  not  open  to 
the  objection  that  it  begs  the  question  at  the  start, 
assuming  the  faith  for  which  it  proposes  to  present 
the  evidence.    The  validity  of  our  method  does 


IS  CHRISTIANITY  THE  BEST  RELIGION?     39 

not  depend  on  this  religious  interpretation,  but 
should  appeal  to  every  honest,  serious  person  who 
desires  the  fullest  life  for  himself  and  the  best 
character  for  the  sake  of  others,  whatever  be  the 
state  of  his  religious  faith  or  lack  of  faith  at  the 
start. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  VALUE  OF  THE  BIBLE  AS  A 
WRITTEN  REVELATION 

"Every  scripture  inspired  of  God  is  also  profitable  for 
teaching,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction  which  is 
in  righteousness." — II  Tim.  3:16. 

14.  The  Bible  is  the  most  valuable  collection  of 
religious  writings  which  the  world  possesses,  and 
meets  the  need  which  man  feels  of  a  real  and  defi- 
nite knowledge  of  the  character  of  God  and  his 
relations  with  mankind. — ''Oh,  that  I  knew  where 
I  might  find  him"  is  the  cry  of  man  all  over  the 
world,  and  especially  of  him  who  is  in  trouble  and 
believes  that  God  might  help  him  out  if  he  could 
be  found  and  properly  appealed  to.  In  every 
known  form  of  religion  it  has  been  thought  that 
such  knowledge  of  God  or  of  the  ultimate  reality 
back  of  the  imiverse  was  at  hand  either  in  common 
possession  or  among  the  priests  or  religious  leaders. 
In  order  that  religious  faith  may  be  strong,  those 
who  hold  it  must  be  confident  that  the  truth  which 
they  hold  has  been  revealed  to  men  in  the  past  or 
present  in  a  clear  and  definite  way.  But  knowing 
that  each  form  of  religion  makes  such  claims  for 
its  system,  and  that  as  they  differ  greatly  from 
each  other,  they  cannot  all  be  true,  we  seek  to 
know  whether  any  form  of  religion  can  justify 

40 


THE  BIBLE  AS  A  WRITTEN  REVELATION     41 

these  claims  in  a  way  which  will  be  superior  to  all 
others,  and  will  satisfy  the  need  of  the  most  intelli- 
gent and  educated,  as  well  as  the  ignorant  and 
humble,  at  the  present  time.  In  this  and  the 
remaining  sections  of  this  chapter,  reasons  are 
given  for  holding  that  the  Bible  meets  these  needs 
as  no  other  revelation  does. 

We  should  notice  that  the  Bible  is  a  collection 
of  writings  and  not  a  single  writing.  The  time  of 
composition  of  the  biblical  writings  commences 
probably  about  a  thousand  years  before  Christ, 
and  ends  about  the  year  100  a.d.  They  were 
written  primarily  for  the  age  and  the  people  of 
their  own  time,  by  men  (or  women)  moved  by  the 
Holy  Spirit.  The  Old  Testament  gives  the  choicest 
surviving  literature  of  the  nation  which  up  to  the 
time  of  Christ  possessed  the  highest  type  of  religion 
known  to  men,  and  shows  the  progressive  develop- 
ment of  thought  and  life  within  this  nation.  The 
New  Testament  is  all  concerned  with  the  life  of 
Jesus  and  his  apostles  and  the  growth  and  literature 
of  the  church  founded  by  the  apostles  in  the  first 
century.  The  Old  Testament  was  the  sacred 
literature  known  and  revered  by  Jesus  and  all 
the  writers  of  the  New  Testament,  and  it  thus 
forms  a  background  for,  and  explanation  of,  the 
latter  to  a  large  extent.  With  these  elements  of 
unity  there  is  great  variety  in  the  language,  con- 
tent, and  purpose  of  these  writings. 


42     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

When  the  Bible  is  compared  with  the  Koran,  the 
writings  of  Confucius,  the  sacred  writings  of  India, 
or  any  other  known  collection  of  reHgious  writings, 
it  will  without  question  rank  far  above  them  all 
for  the  unprejudiced  thinker.  Many  of  the  truths 
contained  in  the  Bible  are  also  taught  in  some  of 
these  other  writings.  And  some  parts  of  the  Bible, 
such  as  chapters  of  names  or  ceremonial  laws, 
have  little  or  no  religious  value  to  the  world  today. 
It  still  remains  true  that  the  Bible,  in  view  of  its 
nature,  history,  the  regard  in  which  it  is  held,  and 
the  extent  to  which  it  is  known,  is  by  far  the  most 
valuable  reHgious  literature  which  the  world  pos- 
sesses. Attention  is  called  to  special  elements  of 
value  in  succeeding  sections. 

15.  The  need  is  felt  for  a  revelation  of  God 
more  authoritative  than  the  opinions  of  ordinary 
men.  The  Bible  is  an  extraordinary  revelation  of 
religious  truth,  tested  by  many  generations  of  the 
best  men  and  found  to  show  the  working  of  God's 
Spirit  upon  its  authors. — The  realization  of  the 
fallibiHty  of  ordinary  men,  and  of  the  fact  that 
reHgious  truth  cannot  be  directly  discovered 
through  the  senses,  explains  the  desire  which  men 
have  had  for  a  ''supernatural  revelation."  In  the 
past  it  has  generally  been  in  peculiar  visions  or 
dreams  or  unusual  experiences,  often  of  a  startling 
or  terrible  nature,  that  men  have  thought  to  receive 
revelations  from  God.     We  are  coming  to  realize 


THE  BIBLE  AS  A  WRITTEN  REVELATION     43 

now  that,  although  God  reveals  himself  in  all 
experiences  of  life,  his  greatest  and  most  important 
revelations  are  to  be  known,  not  by  some  unusual 
manner  in  which  they  were  first  received,  but  by 
the  nature  of  the  revelation  itself,  the  evidence 
of  its  truth  which  comes  from  its  results  in  yielding 
the  fullest  and  noblest  life. 

We  do  not  know  the  detailed  history  of  the 
formation  of  the  "canon"  (the  standard  list  of 
books  regarded  as  especially  inspired)  of  the  Old 
Testament  or  the  New,  but  we  know  that  these 
books  were  sifted  out  from  among  a  much  larger 
number,  because  they  seemed  to  be  of  especial 
religious  value  in  one  way  or  another.  Some  of 
the  books  were  selected  because  they  gave  the 
history,  actual  or  traditional,  from  the  creation 
down  to  the  period  a  few  centuries  before  Christ, 
with  the  older  accounts  purified  by  the  high  moral 
and  religious  spirit  of  later  ages  and  of  the  writers, 
and  with  the  religious  interpretation  of  the  actual 
history  in  the  light  of  faith  in  Jehovah.  Some  of 
the  books  were  the  recorded  words  of  the  prophets 
which  had  stirred  their  generation  and  succeeding 
ones  most  powerfully  to  the  reformation  of  religion 
and  life.  Some  contained  the  songs  used  in  temple 
and  synagogue  and  doubtless  also  in  the  home, 
to  express  need  for,  and  faith  in,  God.  Some  gave 
the  wise  sayings  of  the  sages  of  various  times,  as 
they  had  been  collected.     Of  the  nature  of  the 


44     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

New  Testament  books  we  have  already  spoken. 
They  were  gradually  formed  mto  a  special  col- 
lection to  be  read  in  the  churches,  and  finally, 
after  some  centuries,  given  a  place  beside  the  Old 
Testament  as  especially  inspired  and  sacred. 

All  this  process  of  sifting  and  selection,  carried 
on  both  by  the  mass  and  by  the  leaders  of  the 
people,  brought  together  a  collection  of  books  of 
very  extraordinary  value,  recognized  as  setting 
forth  the  highest  conceptions  of  God  and  man. 
The  evidence  that  the  authors  of  the  books  of  the 
Bible  were  moved  by  the  Spirit  is  the  same  as  the 
evidence  that  men  today  are  moved  by  the  Spirit, 
namely,  that  their  words,  and,  so  far  as  we  know 
them,  their  lives  showed  the  influence  of  the  Spirit 
of  righteousness,  purity,  and  love  working  through 
them,  and  inspiring  in  them  the  highest  faith  in 
God  and  zeal  for  the  welfare  of  man. 

It  is  helpful  to  remember  that  religious  revela- 
tion proceeds  by  the  same  method  as  revelation 
of  other  forms  of  truth.  In  science  for  the  most 
part  a  theory  is  proposed  by  someone  with  a  kind 
of  intuitive  perception  of  probable  truth,  and  then 
tested  by  experiment  and  confirmed  or  dismissed. 
So  in  religious  revelation.  Many  have  thought 
God  had  revealed  truth  to  them,  and  have  declared 
it  in  his  name,  but  the  test  of  appHcation  to  Hfe 
has  shown  it  to  be  partially  or  wholly  false.  It  is 
the  wonderful  tests  of  the  milleimiums  of  practice 


THE  BIBLE  AS  A  WRITTEN  REVELATION     45 

which  guarantee  to  us  the  divine  authority  of  the 
Bible,  and  we  must  keep  on  testing  in  order  to 
discover  what  has  present  value  for  us. 

i6.  Belief  in  a  good  God  implies  belief  that  he 
jvould  reveal  his  nature  and  will  to  men,  in  a  way 
characteristic  of  his  nature.  The  Bible  bears  the 
marks  of  giving  a  revelation  from  God  as  well  as  of 
God. — If  God  be  loving,  he  would  want  to  reveal 
himself  to  men.  If  he  be  just,  he  could  not  require 
men  to  obey  him  unless  he  had  made  plain  to  them 
what  his  will  was.  As  we  recognize  the  word  of 
a  friend  by  peculiarities  in  his  voice,  or  the  letter 
from  a  friend  by  his  handwriting  and  signature, 
so  we  should  expect  that  a  revelation  from  God 
would  bear  marks  peculiar  to  his  nature.  In 
former  ages  when  the  primary  characteristic  of 
God  was  thought  to  be  power,  evidences  of  his 
manifestation  of  himself  were  found  in  unusual 
exhibitions  of  power.  But  as  we  have  come  to 
believe  that  the  peculiar  characteristic  of  God  is 
loving  character,  and  recognize  that  power  is  not 
necessarily  good,  we  come  to  find  evidences  of  the 
self-revelation  of  God  in  that  which  expresses  and 
inculcates  loving  character. 

In  view  of  the  actual  nature  of  man,  and  our 
faith  about  God,  we  should  expect  him  to  be 
revealing  himself  to  men  progressively,  in  ever- 
increasing  measure;  that  those  whose  faith  was 
approaching  the  truth  would  feel  especially  con- 


46     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

fident  that  he  was  revealing  himself  to  and  through 
them.  Such  experiences  we  find  recorded  in  the 
Bible.  The  men  who  had  the  loftiest  faith  in 
God  and  the  clearest  perception  of  the  need  for 
faith  in  and  love  for  him  and  for  one  another 
spoke  with  the  consciousness  of  divine  authority — 
*'Thus  saith  the  Lord" — and  the  conscience  of  man 
responded  to  the  message  thus  spoken  in  God's 
name,  thus  indicating  that  God's  Spirit  was  active 
both  in  the  prophet  or  apostle  and  in  the  hearer, 
who  recognized  God's  voice  in  the  message  of 
righteousness  or  love.  Every  point  of  value  in  the 
Bible,  all  those  qualities  which  have  made  it  pre- 
eminent as  a  book  of  religious  instruction  and 
inspiration,  tend  to  show  that  it  is  the  result  not 
only  of  the  efforts  of  the  best  men  to  find  God,  but 
of  God's  revelation  of  himself  to  man. 

17.  A  divine  revelation  is  needed  through  which 
the  plain  and  ignorant  man  can  learn  of  God,  with- 
out the  interference  of  priests  or  religious  leaders 
who  might  come  between  him  and  God.  The 
Bible  meets  this  need  in  a  remarkable  way. — The 
extreme  of  the  caste  system  of  India,  with  its 
great  evils,  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  highest  caste, 
the  Brahmans,  are  supposed  to  be  the  only  people 
who  understand  the  truth  about  the  gods  and  reli- 
gion so  that  they  can  properly  conduct  sacrifice 
or  other  religious  ceremonies.  The  Roman  Catho- 
hc  church  has  generally  held  that  the  common 


THE  BIBLE  AS  A  WRITTEN  REVELATION     47 

people  were  incapable  of  understanding  the  Bible 
rightly  and  that  they  should  look  to  the  priests  for 
all  their  knowledge  of  God  and  religion.  Therefore, 
except  when  in  strong  competition  with  Protes- 
tantism, it  has  generally  forbidden  the  use  of  the 
Bible  to  the  common  people,  and  in  every  way 
discouraged  independent  thought  about  religion. 
The  Protestant  churches  have  generally  appealed 
directly  to  the  Bible  as  the  revelation  of  the  truth 
about  God,  and  put  it  into  the  hands  of  everyone 
to  study  for  himself.  As  a  result,  education  in 
general,  and  mental  and  moral  progress  in  com- 
munities dominated  by  Protestant  principles  have 
been  greatly  superior  to  what  is  to  be  found  where 
the  Roman  church  has  been  in  sole  possession  of 
the  ground.  This  may  be  seen  by  comparing 
conditions  in  Spain,  Italy,  Mexico,  Central  and 
South  America,  where  Roman  Catholicism  has 
held  almost  exclusive  sway,  with  conditions  in 
the  other  parts  of  Christendom,  where  Protestant- 
ism has  been  strong.  Unfortunately,  Protestant 
churches  have  in  the  past  been  inconsistent  in 
the  application  of  this  principle  of  the  guidance 
of  the  individual  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  have 
attempted  to  enforce  certain  interpretations  of 
the  Bible  and  views  of  the  truth  about  God  upon 
their  own  members  and  others.  The  result  has 
been  the  arising  of  innumerable  sects  of  Protestants, 
competing  and  to  some  extent  warring  with  each 


48     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

other.  The  recognition  of  the  right  and  duty  of 
every  man  to  study  the  Bible  for  himself,  and 
believe  and  live  according  to  the  highest  truth  he 
finds  revealed  there  and  in  the  other  experiences  of 
his  life,  is  making  it  possible  now  for  large  bodies 
of  Christians  which  have  been  separate  to  co- 
operate and  even  to  unite  in  fellowship  and  work 
for  God  and  man.  The  Bible  is  wonderfully  suited 
to  be  such  a  guidebook  to  the  unlearned  man,  and 
release  him  from  bondage  to  ecclesiastical  authority. 
At  the  same  time  there  is  much  truth  in  the 
position  that  the  unlearned  man  cannot  alone 
properly  interpret  the  Bible.  There  is  much 
difference  in  this  regard  in  different  parts  of  the 
Bible,  and  many  cannot  be  properly  imderstood 
and  used  without  the  guidance  of  those  who  after 
careful  preparation  can  give  the  true  meaning  or 
explain  the  right  use.  And  in  general  we  must 
recognize  that  it  is  foolish  for  any  man  to  disre- 
gard the  knowledge  and  wisdom  which  have  been 
acquired  by  the  great  labors  of  the  greatest  minds 
and  truest  hearts  of  the  past;  and  so  that  there 
must  be  much  authority  in  the  interpretations  and 
statements  of  belief  which  the  church  has  received 
from  past  ages.  Only  these  things  must  be  pre- 
sented to  the  individual  for  God's  Spirit  to  use 
in  making  plain  to  him  the  truth,  instead  of  being 
thrust  upon  him  as  something  which  he  must 
accept  without  question. 


THE  BIBLE  AS  A  WRITTEN  REVELATION     49 

i8.  Man  requires  religious  truth,  not  in  the  form 
of  logical  treatises,  but  in  forms  which  stir  the 
noblest  and  strongest  feelings.  The  Bible  presents 
religious  truth  in  such  forms.— Deep,  clear,  and 
logical  thinking  is  not  easy  nor  common  among 
men,  and  although  such  thinking  and  writings 
embodying  it  in  suitable  form  for  the  student  are 
very  necessary  for  the  attainment  of  the  truth 
and  preparation  to  teach  it,  they  alone  will  not 
reach  and  move  a  man.  The  same  principles  may, 
however,  be  grasped  and  applied  by  him,  if  they 
are  presented  in  song  and  story,  parable  and  pic- 
ture. This  is  done  incomparably  in  the  Bible. 
Its  descriptions  of  the  beginnings  of  order  and  life 
in  the  world  are  simple  and  grand — not  in  scientific 
language  but  in  the  forms  of  the  traditions  and 
legends  of  remote  ages  modified  and  purified  by 
faith  in  the  one  righteous  and  loving  God.  The 
primal  needs  and  passions  of  Hfe,  with  the  religious 
and  moral  principles  which  underHe  them,  meet  us 
in  the  stories  of  the  patriarchs  and  the  early 
legends  and  history  of  Israel.  The  Psalms  give 
us  songs  and  prayers  of  devotion  that  appeal  to 
all  ranks  and  classes  of  men,  and  the  books  of  the 
prophets  in  many  cases  deal  with  social  and 
religious  problems  in  a  direct  and  popular  way 
which  makes  them  useful  and  applicable  to  the 
present  day  as  well  as  to  the  day  m  which  they 
were  first  given.     So  in  the  New  Testament  the 


50     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

simple  narratives  of  the  life  of  Jesus  and  his 
parables,  the  pictures  of  the  glories  of  the  future 
life  in  the  Book  of  Revelation  and  other  parts  of 
the  New  Testament  have  stirred  the  highest 
enthusiasm  and  brought  faith,  wisdom,  and  com- 
fort to  all  the  generations  which  have  known 
them. 

19.  That  people  of  all  classes  and  conditions 
may  be  united  in  the  worship  of  one  God  and  co- 
operation in  doing  his  will,  a  revelation  is  needed 
with  great  variety  in  its  appeal  to  men  of  all  classes 
and  conditions.  The  sweep  and  variety  of  the 
appeals  made  to  all  classes,  in  the  Bible,  are  un- 
paralleled by  any  other  collection  of  religious  writ- 
ings.— Almost  all  the  religions  of  mankind  have 
been  local  in  their  character.  They  have  been  so 
closely  related  to  the  places  and  people  where  they 
grew  up  that,  while  they  powerfully  influenced 
the  men  of  that  vicinity,  they  were  of  very  much 
less  interest  or  value  to  people  farther  away. 
Sacred  cities  and  places,  such  as  Mecca  or  Jeru- 
salem, may  be  of  positive  value  for  people  living 
near  enough  to  visit  them,  but  may  much  lessen 
the  value  of  a  religion  for  people  farther  distant. 
The  Koran  appealed  very  strongly  to  the  people 
of  Arabia  and  at  the  time  of  Mahomet,  but  distance 
in  time  from  its  author  and  in  place  from  the  sacred 
city  of  Mecca  seriously  decreases  its  interest  and 
power. 


THE  BIBLE  AS  A  WRITTEN  REVELATION     51 

The  great  variety  of  physical  and  geographical 
conditions  existing  in  the  little  land  of  Palestine, 
in  which  most  of  the  Bible  was  written,  including 
lake  and  river,  mountain  and  plain,  desert  and 
fertile  country,  temperate  and  torrid  climate,  and 
the  long  sea  coast,  with  animals,  vegetables,  and 
minerals  belonging  to  these  various  conditions, 
gives  to  its  Kterature  a  wealth  of  allusion  which 
appeals  to  people  of  almost  all  human  conditions. 
The  fact  that  the  biblical  Scriptures  were  written 
at  different  times  during  a  period  of  about  eleven 
hundred  years,  which  witnessed  great  historic 
events  and  changes  and  brought  its  people  into 
contact  with  the  great  empires  of  the  earth,  adds 
greatly  to  the  breadth  of  its  appeal.  References 
in  the  New  Testament  to  conditions,  good  and 
bad,  in  various  parts  of  the  Roman  Empire,  which 
have  their  parallels  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  have 
helped  to  make  the  Bible  a  book  for  all  men. 
People  in  both  Orient  and  Occident  have  found 
the  character  of  Jesus  appealing  to  their  highest 
ideals.  Thus  has  the  Bible  been  peculiarly  and 
providentially  fitted  to  reveal  God  to  men  of  all 
nations. 

20.  A  revelation  is  required  by  man,  and  found 
in  the  Bible,  which  shows  men  how  at  the  same 
time,  consistently  with  each  other,  to  come  into 
harmony  with  God  and  to  gain  or  preserve  those 
things  which  are  necessary  or  valuable  for  the 


52     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

interests  of  the  various  phases  of  the  physical  and 
spiritual  life  of  man.— In  the   simpler  and  more 
primitive  forms  of  religion,  the  religious  ceremonies 
and  actions  were  mostly  related  to  the  physical 
needs  of  the  people  for  rain,  good  harvests,  safety 
from  enemies,  success  in  war,  health,  children,  etc. 
These  needs  are  permanent  ones  and  a  God  whose 
power  extends  to  all  the  affairs  of  life  must  have 
something    to    do    with    supplying    these    needs. 
Different  forms  of  religion  have  recognized  the 
various  needs  of  men  in  unequal  degree.     Moham- 
medanism   emphasizes    the    sensuous    needs    and 
sensual  desires  of  men.     Buddhism  aims  to  abolish 
all  desire  whatever.     Christian  Science  is  mainly 
concerned  with  physical  health.     Asceticism  exalts 
spiritual  development  at  the  expense  of  the  body. 
But  the  Bible  recognizes  the  needs  of  both  body 
and  soul  as  legitimate  and  not  antagonistic.     The 
need  and  value  of  the  common  comforts  for  the 
body,  the  institutions  for  social  welfare,  the  family, 
school,  church,  and  state,  that  which  appeals  to 
the  sense  of  the  beautiful  in  scenery,  music,  form, 
and  Uterature,  and  finally  and  fundamentally  those 
moral  principles  which  make  society  happy  and 
healthful  and  character  noble  and  heroic,   are  all 
recognized  m  the  Bible  as  in  no  other  reHgious 
Uterature.     It  thus  serves  as  a  healthy  corrective 
to  extremes  of  all  sorts  which  would  tend  to  make 
life  narrow  or  one-sided,  at  the  same  time  that  it 


THE  BIBLE  AS  A  WRITTEN  REVELATION     53 

is  uncompromising  in  its  condemnation  of  the 
slightest  evil  in  the  spiritual  life.  Written  in 
periods  when  society  was  much  farther  from  the 
ideal  state  than  it  is  now,  it  served  to  point  the 
way  and  establish  the  principles  which  have  led, 
and  must  lead,  to  a  constant  progress  toward 
social  perfection. 

21.  If  the  greatest  force  in  and  behind  the 
universe  be  a  God  whom  it  would  be  right  to 
worship  and  obey  and  natural  to  love,  then  we  shall 
be  able  to  recognize  in  any  revelation  of  the  best 
religion  a  revelation  of  and  from  God.  The  pre- 
eminence of  the  Bible  as  a  revelation  of  God  arises 
from  the  fact  that  the  reason  and  conscience  of  any 
man  may  find  in  it  the  highest  conceptions  of  God 
and  man  and  he  may  thus  receive  the  revelation  of 
God  for  himself. — If  God  had  not  given  to  man  the 
power  to  recognize  his  truth  and  to  receive  his 
revelation,  then  all  claims  made  for  the  Bible  as 
a  revelation  of  God  would  be  idle  and  impossible 
to  substantiate,  and  there  would  be  no  such  thing 
as  divine  revelation.  And  if  the  real  God  be  one 
who  is  not  perfectly  righteous  and  loving,  whose 
worship  and  service  would  be  something  less  than 
the  best  religion,  then  man  has  no  right  to  worship 
and  obey  him.  It  is  only  on  the  supposition  that 
the  highest  teaching  of  Christianity  is  true,  namely, 
that  God  embodies  in  his  character  our  highest 
ideals  of  love,  justice,  purity,  and  power,  that  we 


54     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

can  be  justified  in  loving  and  obeying  him,  and 
can  be  sure  of  knowing  his  will.  This  principle 
must  imply  that  God  reveals  himself  constantly 
in  all  of  our  experience,  and  not  through  the  Bible 
alone,  that  every  truth  which  brings  us  to  a  higher 
idea  of  God  and  understanding  of  our  duty  to  men 
is  a  revelation  of  God.  It  also  gives  us  the  funda- 
mental principle  for  the  right  use  of  the  Bible,  which 
is  the  subject  of  the  next  chapter. 

In  science  and  all  other  activities  of  thought, 
we  assume  that  the  universe  is  rational.  If  there 
be  a  God  at  all  whom  our  reason  can  in  any  degree 
apprehend,  it  must  be  that  his  revelation  of  him- 
self will  be,  like  the  knowledge  of  his  universe,  ac- 
cording to  reason,  and  not  contrary  to  it. 

There  is  no  hope  of  the  reuniting  of  the  various 
Christian  sects  or  of  agreement  as  to  the  nature 
and  will  of  God,  so  long  as  each  holds  as  infal- 
lible truth  his  own  interpretation  of  writings 
of  the  distant  past  through  which  God  revealed 
himself  to  men  of  ear  Her  generations.  This  has 
been  one  of  the  very  serious  errors  of  Christian 
people  as  well  as  of  adherents  of  Mohammedanism 
and  other  forms  of  religion.  ''Conservatism" 
stands  for  the  preservation  of  that  which  has  come 
down  from  the  past.  Its  general  attitude  is  right. 
It  often  errs,  however,  in  failure  to  distinguish 
between  that  which  is  of  permanent  value  in  that 
which  has  been   received,   and   that  which  was 


THE  BIBLE  AS  A  WRITTEN  REVELATION     55 

temporary  in  form  or  value.  True  Christianity 
insists  on  the  necessity  for  the  constant  revelation 
of  truth  to  each  man  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  by  which 
he  shall  be  able  to  recognize  in  the  Bible  and  the 
teaching  of  the  church  and  that  of  science  or  any 
other  department  of  thought  or  experience,  what 
he  needs  in  order  to  come  to  God  himself,  and  do 
his  will  in  the  world  of  the  present. 


CHAPTER  III 

HOW  TO  USE  THE  BIBLE 

"If  any  man  willeth  to  do  his  will  he  shall  know  of  the 
teaching,  whether  it  is  of  God  or  whether  I  speak  from 
myself. ' ' — John  7:17. 

22.  To  use  the  Bible  as  a  source  for  non- 
religious  truth,  one  should  understand  the  human 
elements  in  its  origin. — The  principal  non-religious 
uses  which  men  have  made  or  desired  to  make  of 
the  Bible  may  be  classified  as  scientific  and  his- 
torical. It  has  been  thought  that  whatever  the 
Bible  said  about  the  order  and  process  of  creation, 
and  the  laws  of  the  physical  universe,  animate  and 
inanimate,  must  be  absolutely  accurate  and  true. 
It  has  also  been  held  that  all  narratives  of  events 
must  be  held  to  be  accurate  and  inerrant  history. 
Both  of  these  views  leave  out  of  consideration  the 
conditions  and  circumstances  of  the  composition 
of  the  books. 

The  views  of  the  origin  and  laws  of  the  physical 
universe  which  are  found  in  the  Bible  are  the 
views  which  were  current  at  the  time  those  writings 
were  composed  and  we  have  no  reason  to  think 
that  they  were  based  on  careful  scientific  investi- 
gation. Nor  have  we  any  sufficient  reason  to 
think  that  they  were  supernaturally  revealed. 
56 


HOW  TO  USE  THE  BIBLE  57 

There  is  no  such  claim  made  for  them  by  their 
authors.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  clear  that  these 
writings  were  composed  first  of  all  for  the  people 
of  the  time  in  which  they  lived,  written  in  the 
language  and  reflecting  the  highest  ideas  of  the 
time.  For  instance,  when  the  early  chapters  of 
Genesis  were  composed,  it  would  have  been  impos- 
sible for  a  writer  to  have  explained  the  processes 
of  development  of  order,  beauty,  and  life  in  the 
universe  as  scientists  do  today.  The  principles 
of  such  science  were  unknown,  and  if  someone  had 
understood  and  tried  to  explain  them,  he  would 
not  have  had  words  in  which  to  do  so,  and  would 
have  been  certain  to  have  created  false  impressions 
instead  of  true.  Bible  statements  concerning 
topics  now  within  the  realm  of  science,  then,  must 
be  considered  as  giving  the  views  of  their  times, 
and  as  containing  just  such  truth  as  had  been 
reached  by  the  processes  of  thought  and  observa- 
tion which  had  been  developed  up  to  that  time. 

The  narratives  of  the  Bible  represent  what 
their  authors  believed  to  be  the  facts  of  history 
at  the  time  of  writing.  A  large  part  of  the  narra- 
tives of  the  Old  Testament  was  put  into  the  form 
which  we  have,  many  centuries  after  the  events 
which  they  describe.  For  some  of  them  the  origi- 
nal documents  from  which  they  were  gathered 
are  specifically  referred  to,  and  the  writings  are 
evidently  arrangements  by  ^'editors"  of  material 


58     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

both  oral  and  written  which  was  available  for 
them.  The  original  documents  were  doubtless 
written  in  some  cases  by  contemporary  witnesses 
of  the  events  described,  and  in  other  cases  were 
just  the  writing-out  of  oral  tradition  which  had 
been  handed  down  for  generations.  In  all  these 
cases  it  would  be  inevitable  that  errors  of  memory 
and  unscientific  views  of  events  would  color  the 
narratives  and  prevent  them  from  being  fully 
accurate.  It  is  further  clear  that  the  methods  of 
the  editors  in  using  the  material  which  they  had  was 
not  scientific,  but  that  they  pieced  together  more 
or  less  conflicting  narratives  of  different  persons, 
and  included  comments  or  explanations  of  their 
own  or  of  others  which  would  not  be  of  full  his- 
torical value.  The  Bible  was  written  in  the  Orient, 
primarily  for  orientals,  and  we  find  in  the  Orient 
little  or  no  conception  of  history  in  our  exact 
western  sense,  and  must  not  expect  it  in  the 
Bible.  Marvelous  tales  very  quickly  grow  up 
about  heroes  of  past  ages,  and  are  readily  accepted 
as  true  by  unscientific  minds  and  passed  on  by 
them  to  later  generations.  No  doubt  these 
processes  took  place  in  connection  with  biblical 
narratives.  The  historical  value  of  biblical  narra- 
tives is  therefore  unequal,  and  depends  in  each 
case  upon  the  evidence  which  may  be  found  from 
the  consistency  and  verisimilitude  of  the  narrative 
itself,  and  its  agreement  with  other  biblical  and 


HOW  TO  USE  THE  BIBLE  59 

^'profane"  narratives,  monuments,  or  other  sources 
of  history. 

It  is  well  to  note  here  that  for  most  people  of 
today  the  question  of  the  accuracy  and  truth  of 
the  historical  narratives  and  "scientific"  teachings 
of  the  Old  Testament  is  of  very  little  importance. 
It  is  the  religious  and  ethical  teachings  which  are 
of  value,  and  their  value  is  quite  independent  of 
their  truth  as  history  or  science.  And  this  is  the 
principal  significance  of  these  writings  as  bibhcal 
Scriptures.  It  is  of  no  reHgious  value  for  us  to 
know  the  order  or  method  of  creation.  It  is  of 
great  value  for  us  to  believe  that  the  God  and 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Creator 
of  the  universe.  It  is  of  little  importance  whether 
a  Hebrew  of  the  name  Jacob  ever  lived  and  acted 
according  to  the  Genesis  narrative.  It  is  of  great 
importance  for  us  to  find  barren  places  turning 
into  Bethels,  and  supplanters  into  princes  of  God, 
both  in  history  and  in  our  own  experience.  We 
have  seen  that  our  thoughts  about  God  must  be 
faith  and  cannot  be  knowledge  in  the  literal  sense, 
and  the  teachings  of  the  Bible  cannot  change  that 
fact  for  us.  So  that  if  the  story  of  Jacob's  life  is 
all  literal  and  accurate  history,  so  far  as  it  describes 
events  within  the  realm  of  sense  and  knowledge, 
that  does  not  prove  that  there  ever  was  such  a 
God  as  Jehovah.  Nor,  if  we  should  come  to  think 
of  Jacob  as  an  entirely  mythical  character,  would 


6o     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

that  affect  the  truths  of  faith  which  are  taught  us 
in  the  narrative  of  his  life. 

The  question  of  the  historicity  of  the  New 
Testament  narratives  is  of  more  vital  importance 
to  Christian  faith,  although  it  does  not  depend 
absolutely  upon  their  accuracy  in  any  way.  But 
whatever  their  value,  they  must  be  treated  on  the 
same  prmciple  as  those  of  the  Old  Testament, 
and  any  other  historical  documents.  To  bring 
strong  evidence  of  their  general  historical  value  is 
comparatively  easy.  To  prove  that  they  are 
correct  in  every  detail  is  absolutely  impossible. 
Even  here  the  religious  value  is  of  far  more  impor- 
tance than  the  historical,  nor  can  it  depend  upon  it. 
God  has  revealed  his  love  and  righteousness  and  the 
truths  of  his  spiritual  kingdom  to  us  in  the  Gospels, 
whether  they  are  accurate  history  or  not. 

''Render  unto  Caesar  the  things  that  are 
Caesar's,"  unto  science  the  things  that  are  science's, 
unto  history  the  things  that  belong  to  history, 
"and  unto  God  the  things  that  are  God's." 

23.  To  use  the  Bible  as  a  guide  to  right  conduct, 
one  must  seek  the  light  which  it  throws  on  the 
results  of  different  kinds  of  action  and  the  relative 
worth  of  different  motives;  that  is,  the  assistance 
which  it  renders  to  reason  and  conscience. — How- 
ever literally  a  man  thinks  of  the  Bible  as  the  rule 
of  conduct  today,  no  one  undertakes  to  obey  all 
of  the  commands  which  it  contains,  which  were 


HOW  TO  USE  THE  BIBLE  6i 

given  at  one  time  or  another  as  rules  of  conduct. 
Different  sects  have  picked  out  certain  command- 
ments which  they  feel  required  to  obey  as  literally 
as  they  can,  such  as  that  concerning  baptism  or 
the  keeping  of  the  seventh  day  holy.  But  all 
are  agreed  that  we  cannot  be  expected  to  obey 
all  the  commandments  in  the  Bible — that  God 
does  not  want  us  to  do  so  today.  And  the  only 
consistent  principle  for  the  acceptance  of  some  and 
rejection  of  others  is  that  which  is  stated  in  the 
thesis  of  this  section.  No  commandment  is  a 
command  of  God  to  a  given  man,  until  it  appeals 
to  the  conscience  of  that  man — until  he  has  some 
reason  for  thinking  that  it  will  be  helpful  to  himself 
or  to  other  men  and  pleasing  to  God  for  him  to  do 
the  thing  enjoined.  It  is  not  as  a  code  of  laws,  but 
as  a  source  of  light  upon  human  life  and  its  prob- 
lems, that  the  Bible  has  its  marvelous  value  as  a 
guide  to  the  highest  life.  A  good  man  does  not 
regard  it  as  wrong  to  covet  his  neighbor's  property 
because  the  Bible  prohibits  it,  but  because  when 
he  reads  in  the  Bible,  ''Thou  shalt  not  covet," 
his  conscience  approves  that  command  as  a  right 
one.  When  he  reads  the  rules  for  the  test  of  the 
purity  and  faith  of  a  wife  by  the  drinking  of  the 
holy  water  containing  the  dust  from  the  tabernacle 
floor  (Num.  5:11  ff.),  he  does  not  regard  the  rules 
as  suitable  to  the  life  of  the  present  day.  They 
are  not  God's  command  to  this  generation. 


62     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

In  section  15  attention  was  called  to  the  peculiar 
value  of  the  Bible  due  to  the  process  of  the  selection 
of  the  books  of  which  it  is  composed.  The  testing 
of  the  Bible  as  a  guide  to  life  by  its  use  in  the  church 
and  among  its  members  since  the  formation  of  the 
canon  of  the  Scriptures  has  increased  this  value. 
Not  the  indiscriminate  but  the  discriminating  use 
of  the  Bible  as  a  light  on  the  path  of  life  by  Chris- 
tians for  many  centuries  has  showed  by  its  results 
that  the  light  is  very  great — so  great  that  it  is 
foolish  and  wrong  for  one  to  try  to  go  right  without 
it  when  he  might  have  its  aid.  In  this  sense  of  a 
tested  and  proved  light  upon  the  problems  of  life, 
the  Bible  is  the  highest  written  authority  for 
conduct  which  is  known  in  the  world.  But  it 
must  ever  be  remembered  that  it  is  because  God 
uses  it  to  make  the  path  of  duty  plain  to  the  reason 
and  moral  judgment,  and  not  as  a  system  of  laws 
which  may  be  accepted  without  regard  to  the 
reason  or  conscience,  that  it  has  this  value. 

24.  To  use  the  Bible  as  a  guide  to  the  true  faith, 
one  must  seek  in  it  the  highest  interpretations  of 
experience,  that  is,  those  in  harmony  with  and 
promotive  of  the  best  life,  individual  and  social. — 
In  chapter  i  it  was  shown  that  it  was  both  natural 
and  obligatory  for  a  man  to  adopt  the  best  religion, 
with  the  best  faith  which  he  could  find,  and  it 
was  also  pointed  out  how  the  best  faith  should  be 
tested  and  recognized.     Before  a  man  has  any 


HOW  TO  USE  THE  BIBLE  63 

right  to  accept  the  Bible  or  any  other  book  as 
teaching  the  true  faith,  he  must  have  evidence  that 
it  teaches  him  the  best  faith  which  he  has  thus  far 
been  able  to  find.  This  can  be  known  for  him 
only  by  the  examination  of  its  teachings  in  the 
light  of  the  general  principles  which  determine 
the  best  faith — reasonableness,  value  for  individual 
life,  and  value  for  social  life  or  tendency  to  make 
men  righteous. 

As  a  man  tests  the  Bible  in  this  way  he  finds 
many  passages  and  parts  which  meet  these  tests, 
as  well  as  some  which  do  not.  That  is,  he  finds 
the  truth  revealed  more  clearly  and  perfectly  in 
the  life  and  teachings  of  Jesus  than  in  the  stories 
of  the  Book  of  Judges,  for  example.  There  should 
not  be  the  slightest  hesitation  which  standards 
to  accept  for  his  faith.  Reason  and  conscience 
instinctively  select  the  highest  which  they  find, 
and  this  process  should  become  a  conscious  and 
definite  one.  Let  the  student  get  light  from  every 
part  of  the  Bible  which  offers  him  light,  but  let 
him  not  try  to  believe  any  teaching  about  God  or 
his  relations  to  men  just  because  it  is  in  the  Bible, 
nor  try  to  harmonize  all  the  teachings  of  the  Bible 
perfectly.  Such  exercise  will  be  found  to  be  vain 
and  confusing  rather  than  enlightening.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  there  are  different  and  to  some 
extent  conflicting  ideals  of  faith  and  conduct  set 
forth  in  the  Bible — we  may  well  say  that  the  lower 


64     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

ideals  are  the  more  undeveloped,  and  that  they 
contain  truth  which  is  made  clearer  in  the  later 
and  higher  forms — but  we  shall  do  best  to  take  it  for 
ourselves  in  the  highest  forms  in  which  we  can 
understand  it. 

While  the  time-honored  custom  of  reading  the 
Bible  through  in  course  a  chapter  a  day,  from 
Genesis  to  Revelation,  has  its  value,  it  does  not 
logically  supply  the  daily  need  for  faith  and 
courage.  Under  proper  guidance  it  is  well  to 
become  thoroughly  acquainted  with  all  parts  of 
the  Bible.  But  for  the  planting  and  cultivating 
of  faith  and  guidance  of  conduct,  those  books  and 
chapters  should  be  used  which  are  most  useful 
for  these  purposes.  The  New  Testament  should 
come  before  the  Old,  and  the  gospels  before  the 
epistles.  Many  of  the  psalms  and  chapters  in 
Isaiah  are  of  the  greatest  value  for  devotion  and 
inspiration,  and  the  proverbs,  for  practical  wisdom. 
The  Bible  is  a  library  and  should  be  used  like  other 
libraries,  those  books  being  read  first  and  most 
frequently  which  are  of  most  value  for  the  needs 
of  the  reader. 

In  the  realm  of  faith  the  Bible  is  authoritative 
in  the  same  way  in  which  it  was  found  to  be 
authoritative  as  a  guide  to  right  conduct.  The 
church  has  found  its  highest  faith  taught  in  the 
Bible,  has  found  its  life  made  strong  and  glorious 
by  accepting  the  biblical  ideal  of  God,  as  revealed 


HOW  TO  USE  THE  BIBLE  65 

especially  in  Christ,  as  real,  and  by  viewing  the 
daily  experiences  of  life,  joy  and  sorrow,  pleasure 
and  pain,  in  the  light  of  this  interpretation  of  the 
final  explanation  of  all  these  things,  the  heavenly 
Father.  This  long  experience  of  the  church  forms 
a  powerful  argument  for  the  truth  and  value  of  the 
highest  faith  illustrated  and  affirmed  in  the  Bible, 
and  thus  gives  to  it  its  peculiar  authority  as  a 
guide  to  faith. 

The  great  creeds  of  the  church  have  a  corre- 
sponding authority — not  as  finally  determinative 
of  the  forms  of  faith  but  as  pointing  out  to  the 
reason  and  conscience  the  great  interpretations 
of  life  and  history  which  through  long  ages  have 
been  found  to  lead  to  righteousness  and  hope. 
However  our  belief  may  differ  from  that  expressed 
in  these  creeds,  it  must  express  the  great  truths 
which  they  contain,  or  fail  of  being  the  best  faith. 

25.  To  use  the  Bible  as  a  progressive  book,  one 
must  apply  to  the  conditions  of  today  the  permanent 
principles  which  he  finds  to  have  determined  the 
highest  forms  and  interpretations  of  life  in  the 
changing  and  advancing  intellectual  and  social 
conditions  described  in  the  Bible. — The  conditions 
of  human  life  have  been  rapidly  and  remarkably 
changing  during  the  last  century,  and  they  are 
still  changing  rapidly.  The  growth  of  cities,  the 
division  and  speciaHzation  of  labor,  and  the  large 
and  increasing  use  of  machinery  and  ever-new 


66     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

inventions  for  the  convenience  and  welfare  of  men 
are  some  of  the  features  of  these  changes.  PoHtical 
and  social  forms  have  been  changing  with  indus- 
trial, and  finally  the  literature  and  thought  of 
today  is  very  different  from  that  of  a  century  ago, 
and  has  come  to  no  stable  or  permanent  condition. 
While  language  does  not  seem  to  change  much, 
the  meaning  which  is  received  from  its  words, 
the  thoughts  which  they  suggest  are  inevitably 
changing  with  these  changes  in  the  forms  of  the  life 
to  describe  which  it  is  used.  All  these  changes  are 
so  marked  that  many  are  inclined  to  think  that  the 
religion  which  has  been  good  in  the  past  is  out  of 
date,  and  like  the  simple  machinery  of  a  century 
ago  must  be  thrown  to  the  rubbish  heap.  It  is 
probably  true  that  religion  has  not  changed  its 
forms  to  adapt  them  to  the  changing  needs  of  hu- 
manity, as  readily  and  quickly  as  the  other  factors 
in  human  life,  and  still  it  has  been  changing  too, 
here  more  and  there  less,  but  everywhere  to  some 
extent. 

A  careful  study  of  the  Bible  will  show  that  the 
life  described  there  and  the  religious  views  which 
were  related  to  it  also  changed  from  time  to  time. 
In  the  early  history  of  Israel,  its  God,  Jehovah, 
was  still  regarded  as  one  among  many  gods — 
doubtless  the  greatest  and  best,  and  the  only  one 
whom  the  Israelites  ought  to  worship,  but  still 
he  was  only  the  god  of  their  tribe,  and  other  nations 


HOW  TO  USE  THE  BIBLE  67 

had  other  gods.  But  as  civilization  progressed  and 
thought  developed,  the  belief  that  there  was  but 
one  God  for  the  whole  world  gradually  took  ever- 
deeper  root  in  the  minds,  first  of  the  prophets,  and 
then  of  the  priests  and  common  people,  and  after 
the  exile,  monotheism  was  firmly  established  as  the 
Jewish  faith.  But  even  in  the  time  of  Christ  we 
find  that  there  were  serious  defects  in  the  Jewish 
religion,  from  which  the  disciples  themselves  were 
not  free,  and  which  have  left  their  marks  on  the 
writings  of  the  New  Testament  as  well  as  the  Old. 
The  main  characteristics  of  human  nature 
remain  the  same,  while  its  surroundings  vary  in  a 
thousand  ways.  The  principal  needs  of  men 
remain  the  same,  while  the  ways  in  which  they  are 
supplied  are  constantly  changing.  And  thus  the 
fundamental  principles  of  religion  are  constant, 
while  their  application  may  and  should  be  ever 
advancing.  These  principles  we  have  considered 
in  the  first  two  chapters,  and  they  have  been  found 
in  Christianity  from  its  beginning,  and  may  be 
traced  still  farther  back  into  the  earliest  period  of 
Old  Testament  times.  As  we  find  these  principles 
applied  first  rudely  and  to  the  simple  forms  of 
patriarchal  life,  and  then  ever  more  intelligently 
to  the  increasingly  complex  forms  of  tribal  and 
national  life,  we  may  learn  the  need  and  possibility 
of  their  reinterpretation  and  appHcation  to  all 
the  needs  and  problems  of  today,  and  thus  have 


68     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

our  religion  progressive  and  suited  to  the  needs  of 
today,  in  its  forms,  without  losing  any  of  the  value 
which  it  has  gained  from  its  millenniums  of  develop- 
ment, just  as  the  most  modern  and  complicated 
machinery  embodies  the  simple  mechanical  prin- 
ciples of  earlier  ages  and  the  improvements  and 
inventions  which  have  been  gradually  added  from 
time  to  time. 

Let  us  remember,  too,  that  no  actual  form  of 
organized  religion  has  ever  yet  met  the  needs 
of  humanity  perfectly.  We  may  say,  if  we  will, 
that  Christianity  has  never  yet  been  properly 
tried.  But  if  that  is  true  it  means  an  ideal 
Christianity,  for  there  have  been  forms  of  creed 
and  of  organization  under  the  name  of  Christianity 
and  doubtless  with  something  of  its  spirit  and 
reality  which  have  been  tried  by  large  numbers  of 
people.  If  the  faith  has  never  yet  been  fully 
appUed  to  life,  it  may  be  that  the  fault  was  partly 
in  the  way  the  faith  was  stated  and  taught, 
and  not  entirely  in  the  lack  of  earnestness  and 
sincerity  in  those  who  professed  to  hold  it.  If  the 
organization  did  not  establish  the  kingdom  of 
God  in  any  complete  and  satisfactory  form,  it 
may  be  partly  because  it  was  never  completely 
adapted  to  the  nature  and  needs  of  society,  and 
not  merely  because  its  efforts  were  opposed  in 
various  ways.  So  we  cannot  say  with  confidence 
that  the  highest  form  of  religion  prevailing  among 


HOW  TO  USE  THE  BIBLE  69 

men  at  any  time  in  the  past  was  the  best  form 
even  for  that  generation  and  community,  much 
less  that  it  is  perfectly  suited  to  our  time.  Our 
effort  should  not  be,  therefore,  to  retain  the  form 
of  organization  or  of  doctrine  which  belonged  to 
the  church  established  by  the  apostles,  but  to  find 
the  principles  of  truth  and  value  in  those  earliest 
forms  and  in  the  development  of  those  forms 
since  then,  and  apply  those  principles  to  present 
needs  and  conditions  so  as  to  get  the  best  possible 
religion  for  humanity  today. 

26.  To  use  the  Bible  as  a  Christian  book  one 
must  seek  (i)  from  the  effects  which  the  life  and 
words  of  Jesus  had  upon  his  disciples  and  the  early 
church,  as  indicated  by  the  writings  of  the  New 
Testament,  to  understand  as  clearly  as  possible  the 
character  of  the  cause,  in  the  Spirit  of  God  which 
determined  his  life ;  and  then  (2)  to  find  in  the  Old 
Testament  writings  the  evidences  of  the  work  of 
the  same  Spirit  and  the  preparation  for  the  revela- 
tion in  Jesus;  and  finally  (3)  to  develop  the  faith, 
conduct,  and  institutions  of  today  in  harmony  with 
the  truth  revealed  in  Jesus  and  thus  establish  the 
kingdom  of  God  in  all  the  world. — Jesus  is  the 
center  of  interest  in  the  Bible.  In  the  light  of 
this  interest  the  Bible  acquires  a  unity  which  does 
not  belong  to  it  otherwise.  The  New  Testament 
is  concerned  with  his  life  and  its  results  in  the 
early  church.    The  Old  Testament  forms  the  back- 


70     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

ground  of  the  New  and  shows  how  preparation 
was  made  for  the  work  of  Jesus. 

The  facts  of  the  life  of  Jesus  have  a  great  and 
special  religious  significance  for  the  Christian,  to 
which  attention  is  called  later  (see  sections  57-61). 
Many  people  think  that  if  we  cannot  be  quite 
certain  of  the  accuracy  of  the  gospel  stories  the 
whole  Christian  faith  is  in  danger.  While  there 
is  the  best  reason  to  believe  that  the  Gospels  give 
us  good  history,  and  that  their  value  as  history 
cannot  be  destroyed  by  any  legitimate  criticism, 
it  is  of  importance  to  look  deeper  into  their 
meaning,  and  see  that  even  if  this  were  not  true. 
Christian  faith  as  a  whole  would  not  be  endangered. 
For  Christian  faith  is  concerned  fundamentally 
with  God  and  his  relations  with  men.  These  are 
matters  of  faith  and  not  of  knowledge  (see  sec- 
tion 9)  and  can  neither  depend  upon  historical 
facts  for  their  evidence,  nor  be  disproved  by  the 
invalidation  of  supposed  history. 

Christian  faith  has  held  that  in  Jesus  it  found 
God  manifest  in  the  flesh.  The  evidence  for  this 
was  never  solely  the  confirmation  of  miracles  but 
the  recognition  of  the  ideal  character,  the  spirit 
which  most  completely  met  the  needs  of  men,  in 
the  life  of  Jesus.  The  fundamental  question,  then, 
with  regard  to  the  New  Testament  as  a  religious 
and  Christian  book  is :  What  are  the  main  features 
of  this  ideal  character  and  what  was  the  result  of 


HOW  TO  USE  THE  BIBLE  71 

the  acceptance  of  this  ideal  as  the  highest  type  of 
man  and  the  most  perfect  possible  revelation  of 
God  to  man,  upon  the  earliest  Christians  ? 

The  central  and  essential  question  in  any  form 
of  religion  must  be  as  to  the  nature  and  character 
of  God  or  the  ultimate  reality  which  governs  man's 
destiny.  Our  method,  as  already  explained  and 
more  fully  developed  in  later  chapters,  is  to  find 
what  conception  of  God  best  corresponds  to  the 
facts  of  our  experience  and  to  our  needs,  individual 
and  social.  If  God  really  is  such  a  being  as  our 
highest  thought  believes  him  to  be,  then  he  would 
confer  the  greatest  possible  blessmg  upon  men  by 
revealing  himself  to  them — giving  to  them  in 
some  way  the  thought  of  the  ideal  character  which 
most  fully  represented  him. 

We  have,  then,  the  Gospels  with  their  story  of 
the  life  of  Jesus,  and  the  other  books  of  the  New 
Testament  describing  the  effects  of  that  life  upon 
the  people  of  the  first  century.  And  we  know 
something  of  the  effect  which  the  faith  set  forth 
in  the  New  Testament  has  had  upon  society  as 
expressed  in  the  church  and  the  civilization  which 
it  has  influenced  from  that  day  to  this.  We  con- 
clude that  all  that  is  good  in  these  effects  came 
from  truth  in  the  faith  which  lay  behind  them  as 
cause.  We  are  concerned,  then,  as  noted  in  the 
last  section,  not  with  the  exact  forms  of  either  the 
faith  or  the  organization  of  the  apostolic  church, 


72     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

but  with  that  in  them  which  gave  them  their  power. 
The  truth  had  to  be  put  into  the  language  and 
thought-forms  of  that  day.  The  same  truth  must 
be  put  into  somewhat  different  language  and 
thought-forms  if  we  are  to  understand  it  today. 
In  our  use  of  the  Bible,  then,  we  can  never  be 
relieved  of  the  necessity  for  seeking  for  the  truth, 
and  proving  it  by  the  tests  by  which  truth  is  known. 

Many  have  thought  the  chief  value  of  the  Old 
Testament  in  relation  to  the  life  of  Christ  was  in 
the  foretellings  of  characteristics  or  details  in  his 
life,  by  the  fulfilling  of  which  he  is  known  to  be 
the  Messiah  whom  God  promised,  and  finally 
sent.  The  Gospel  of  Matthew  refers  to  passages 
of  the  Old  Testament  with  this  purpose  in  view. 
The  Old  Testament  has  two  truer  and  much  more 
important  relations  to  Christ.  In  the  first  place, 
it  was  for  him  and  his  disciples  and  the  people 
among  whom  he  lived  what  the  Bible  has  been 
to  the  church  since  it  was  completed.  We  can 
understand  his  teachings,  then,  only  in  their 
relation  to  this  fact  of  the  position  of  the  Old 
Testament  in  the  knowledge  and  faith  of  himself 
and  the  Jews  of  that  time.  And  his  use  of  the 
Scriptures  is  very  suggestive  for  us  (see  section  7). 

But  another  and  more  important  way  in  which 
the  Old  Testament  is  a  Christian  book  is  that  the 
revelation  most  fully  made  in  Jesus  is  foreshadowed 
in  it.     As  noted  in  the  last  section,  there  is  to  be 


HOW  TO  USE  THE  BIBLE  73 

found  in  the  Old  Testament  a  gradually  advancing 
conception  of  God,  becoming  ever  more  spiritual, 
pure,  loving,  and  righteous.  In  the  Book  of 
Isaiah  (who  was  therefore  called  the  messianic 
prophet),  and  in  other  books  less  clearly  and 
frequently,  we  find  expressed  many  of  the  ideals, 
hopes,  and  expectations  fulfilled  in  the  life  of 
Jesus.  From  the  beginning  there  is  the  thought 
of  God  as  having  the  character  and  likeness  of  the 
best  man,  and  in  the  patriarchal  stories  of  God 
appearing  to  men,  he  is  thought  of  as  appearing 
in  human  form.  Gradually  the  cruder  anthro- 
pomorphism disappears,  and  God  becomes  a 
spiritual  being  whom  the  heavens  cannot  contain, 
but  ever  one  with  whom  men  may  have  com- 
munion and  fellowship;  and  the  thought  that 
he  is  morally  righteous  takes  the  place  of  the  idea 
of  ceremonial  holiness,  and  the  belief  that  he  is 
Creator  of  the  universe  and  Father  of  all  men  is 
reached  by  the  most  spiritual  minds,  although  the 
latter  idea,  so  wonderfully  exemplified  in  Jesus, 
never  obtained  a  strong  hold  in  the  mind  of  the 
ordinary  Jew  before  his  coming.  Thus  Jesus 
could  appeal  to  the  Scriptures  as  being  fulfilled 
in  his  life  and  words,  as  he  taught  and  lived  their 
noblest  precepts  and  truths. 

It  is  becoming  ever  more  clear  that  the  life  of 
Jesus,  and  the  Bible  in  which  that  life  is  described, 
are  of  value  to  men  in  the  degree  in  which  they 


74     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

help  men  to  live  similar  lives,  that  is,  lives  governed 
by  the  same  motives  and  determined  by  the  same 
principles.  The  words  at  the  head  of  this  chapter 
draw  attention  to  the  fundamental  rule  or  method 
of  interpreting  and  using  the  Bible:  ''If  any  man 
willeth  to  do  his  will  he  shall  know  of  the  teaching, 
whether  it  is  of  God  or  whether  I  speak  of  myself." 
The  determination  to  do  the  will  of  God,  to  live 
the  life  completely  dominated  by  love  to  God  and 
men,  is  the  great  condition  of  making  the  highest 
use  of  the  Bible  and  finding  out  the  best  faith. 
For  the  man  who  is  guided  by  these  motives 
looks  for,  and  seizes  upon,  everything  which  will 
strengthen  them  in  him  and  aid  him  in  their  ex- 
pression; and  thus  he  is  guided  to  the  deeper  truths 
beneath  the  outward  forms,  and  to  the  higher 
standards  of  action  rather  than  the  lower.  The 
meaning  and  use  of  the  Bible  will  become  ever 
clearer  and  at  the  same  time  more  wonderful  to 
him  whose  life  is  devoted  to  the  establishment  of 
the  kingdom  of  God  in  the  hearts  of  all  men. 


CHAPTER  IV 

WHAT  SHALL  WE  BELIEVE  ABOUT  GOD  ? 
"Have  faith  in  God."— Mark  11:22. 

27.  We  ought  to  believe  that  there  is  but  one 
God,  that  is,  that  there  is  one  force  in  the  universe 
which  is  more  powerful  than  any  other  or  all  others 
together,    so    that    it    can    control    the    universe 

absolutely. — The  name  for  this  belief  is  mono- 
theism. It  stands  opposed  to  polytheism  which 
denotes  belief  in  many  gods,  but  is  commonly  used 
to  denote  belief  in  more  than  one  god,  however 
few  the  number  may  be.  It  is  in  reality  a  form 
of  polytheism  when  Christians  hold  an  exaggerated 
or  perverted  form  of  trinitarianism,  a  belief  in 
three  gods  who  are  in  some  way  both  three  and 
one.  This  belief  is  also  called  tritheism.  We 
discuss  later  a  form  of  belief  in  the  ''Trinity" 
which  is  monotheistic.  Tritheism  is  the  faith  that 
there  are  three  individual,  divine  beings,  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  differing  in  certain  respects 
from  each  other  and  so  distinct  that  we  may  pray 
to  one  without  praying  to  all,  or  love  one  more 
than  another,  however  we  may  think  of  them  as 
being  one  or  united.  But  all  forms  of  polytheism 
tend  to  have  a  bad  effect  upon  character.  This 
may  be  seen  by  contrasting  them  with  a  true 

75 


76     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

monotheism.  If  I  believe  that  there  is  one  right- 
eous being  who  controls  the  universe  superior  to 
all  other  powers,  then  I  must  believe  that  if  I 
strive  to  do  right  I  will  have  the  approval  and 
help  of  this  one  God  and  that  nothing  can  prevent 
him  from  accomplishing  his  will. 

Tritheism  has  sometimes  taught  that  Christ 
is  God  but  at  the  same  time  different  in  character 
from  God  the  Father.  Many  people  think  that 
Christ  may  be  appealed  to  through  the  Virgin 
Mary  because  she  was  his  earthly  mother;  and 
that  God  may  be  reached  and  persuaded  to  think 
kindly  and  deal  gently  with  men  through  Christ 
because  he  is  the  Son  of  God,  or  because  he  won 
the  Father's  favor  or  appeased  his  wrath  by  his 
death  on  the  cross.  Both  of  these  ideas  picture 
God  as  less  loving  or  less  indulgent  than  Christ  or 
the  Virgin.  But  if  he  be  less  loving  he  is  less  great, 
for  a  perfectly  loving  God  is  greater  than  one  less 
loving.  And  if  God  can  in  any  way  be  moved  to 
deal  kindly  with  men  other  than  by  his  own  char- 
acter or  by  the  actions  of  men  striving  to  do  his 
will,  then  he  is  not  perfectly  righteous,  and  encour- 
agement is  given  to  believe  that  God's  favor  may 
be  won  in  some  other  way  than  by  a  trustful  heart 
and  a  righteous  life.  Thus  the  tritheistic  belief 
always  involves  a  lower  conception  of  God  than 
the  true  Christian  belief,  and  it  does  not  so  strongly 
favor  a  righteous  life,  but  often  tends  to  an  un- 


WHAT  SHALL  WE  BELIEVE  ABOUT  GOD?     77 

righteous  one.     The  evils  here  illustrated  belong  to 
all  forms  of  polytheism. 

In  our  chapter  about  Jesus  we  shall  find  good 
reason  to  believe  that  God  revealed  himself  through 
him,  but  we  must  be  very  careful  if  we  say  that 
Christ  was  God,  not  by  that  to  mean  that  he  was 
a  different  God  from  the  Father,  for  in  such  a  doc- 
trine lie  the  same  evil  germs  that  manifest  them- 
selves in  the  most  degraded  polytheism.  In  some 
cases  they  may  do  little  or  no  harm,  but  in  others 
they  will  develop  and  do  great  harm  as  they  have 
done. 

Mormonism  is  the  most  base  and  degrading 
form  of  polytheism  which  claims  to  be  Christian 
and  found  its  teachings  on  the  Bible.  It  furnishes 
us,  too,  one  of  the  strongest  arguments  which  could 
be  desired  of  the  great  evils  which  may  arise  from 
the  unquestioning  and  literal  use  of  the  Bible  as 
an  infallible  authority;  for  if  it  be  so  accepted,  a 
large  part  of  Mormon  teaching  can  be  justified  as 
biblical,  whereas  if  Mormonism  be  tested  and  the 
Bible  be  used  according  to  the  principles  we  have 
explained,  it  is  seen  to  be  a  very  bad  religion  and 
to  be  utterly  condemned  by  the  Bible. 

28.  We  ought  to  believe  that  God  is  personal, 
that  is,  that  he  thinks,  feels,  and  wills  in  a  way 
somewhat  similar  to  human  thinking,  feeling,  and 
willing,  although  without  human  limitations.— 
There  is  in  human  life  a  physical  or  material  part 


78     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

of  man's  being  which  has  very  vital  relations  to  the 
spiritual  parts  denoted  by  the  words  thinking, 
feeling,  and  willing.  But  the  importance  of  the 
physical  part  depends  entirely  on  the  spiritual  part 
— a  body  that  could  not  think,  feel,  or  will  might 
as  well  be  dead.  It  is  the  spiritual  part  that  is 
righteous  or  wicked,  the  spiritual  part  that  enters 
into  relation  with  other  human  beings  as  well  as 
with  God.  It  is  this  capacity  to  think,  feel,  and 
will  that  we  mean  by  the  word  spirit.  Now  spirits 
can  only  love  or  obey  or  worship  other  spirits.  We 
cannot  in  the  fullest  sense  love  or  worship  or  obey 
God  unless  he  is  a  spirit — unless  he  can  love  us  in 
return,  think  about  us,  command  us,  and  notice 
and  be  pleased  with  our  obedience.  Thus  to  say 
that  God  is  a  ''principle,"  that  God  is  law  or  order 
or  mere  force,  is  to  say  that  God  is  not  a  being  that 
we  can  worship,  love,  or  obey,  who  does  not  hear 
or  answer  prayer,  who  cannot  be  called  righteous, 
and  who  cannot  be  in  any  true  sense  known  by  a 
spiritual  being.  Of  course  we  must  not  try  to 
define  this  personality  of  God  too  closely— we 
shall  only  succeed  in  putting  limitations  upon  our 
idea  of  God,  and  confusing  ourselves.  We  know 
no  spiritual  beings  except  those  dwelling  in  bodies. 
When  they  cease  to  dwell  in  bodies  we  cease  to 
know  them,  and  so  we  cannot  imagine  how  spirits 
may  think  and  feel  and  will  and  act,  without 
bodies.     But  as  we  have  good  reason  to  believe 


WHAT  SHALL  WE  BELIEVE  ABOUT  GOD  ?     79 

that  spirits  do  live  and  act  without  such  bodies 
as  we  have,  we  must  not  let  our  ignorance  keep  us 
from  a  most  important  faith. 

29.  It  is  contrary  to  the  best  faith  to  say  that  all 
that  exists  is  part  of  God,  that  everything  taken 
together  makes  up  God. — This  faith,  that  the 
whole  universe  is  God,  is  called  pantheism.  There 
are  many  reasons  why  pantheism  is  not  a  good 
faith.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  hardly  possible  to 
think  of  the  whole  universe  as  a  spiritual  being, 
righteous  and  loving,  and  yet  made  up  of  all  the 
spiritual  beings  which  exist,  including  all  men,  the 
most  ignorant  and  wicked  as  well  as  the  good. 
Then,  such  a  belief  tends  to  destroy  the  feeling  of 
moral  responsibility,  and  the  distinction  between 
right  and  wrong,  for  if  God  is  all,  then  I  am  a  part 
of  God,  and  what  I  do,  God  is  doing — he  is  all- 
powerful,  so  I  cannot  help  doing  what  I  do  and  am 
not  responsible  for  it.  And  as  it  would  be  absurd 
to  say  that  God  does  wrong,  so  what  I  do  cannot 
be  wrong,  for  it  is  just  God's  doing.  There  is  then 
no  such  thing  as  sin,  nothing  to  repent  of,  nothing  to 
be  forgiven  for,  no  real  distinction  between  man 
and  God.  To  believe  in  such  a  God  would  also 
destroy  the  possibility  of  prayer,  for  instead  of 
praying  to  a  Father,  we  could  only  pray  to  the  All, 
including  ourselves  and  the  rest  of  mankind,  good 
and  bad,  wise  and  ignorant.  It  should  be  quite 
clear  that  such  a  belief  will  not  help  a  man  to 


8o     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

become  righteous,  at  least  not  in  any  such  way  as 
beHef  in  a  personal,  powerful,  righteous  God  who 
gives  to  men  responsibility,  requires  them  to  be 
righteous,  punishes  them  for  their  sin,  hears  their 
prayer,  and  is  ready  to  help  them  at  all  times. 
Christian  Science  is  a  form  of  pantheism,  and  much 
of  the  so-called  "New  Thought"  of  our  day  is 
strongly  pantheistic  in  tendency. 

30.  We  should  believe  that  God  is  righteous 
and  loving  in  character,  like  the  character  of  Christ 
as  pictured  in  the  Gospels. — We  are  not  here 
concerned  with  the  historicity  of  the  Gospels,  but 
with  the  character  of  God.  The  rules  of  our  faith 
require  that  we  should  attribute  the  highest  char- 
acter to  God,  that  is,  think  of  him  as  a  being  whose 
character  and  action  promote  the  righteous  life 
among  men  in  the  most  complete  way  possible. 
Thus  we  must  think  of  him  as  just,  as  desirmg  and 
requiring  righteousness  among  men,  and  as  being 
ready  to  help  men  in  every  way  possible  to  become 
good.  But  most  men  who  are  familiar  with  the 
story  of  the  life  of  Jesus  as  told  in  the  Gospels 
agree  that  his  character  is  the  most  ideal  one  which 
we  have;  that  his  spirit  of  love  to  all,  especially 
the  neediest,  of  forgiveness,  and  of  demanding 
purity  of  heart  and  the  absolutely  unselfish  life, 
consecrated  to  helping  others,  is  the  best  spirit 
we  can  think  of  to  help  people  to  become  righteous. 
Finding  in  the  gospel  picture  the  ideal  character, 


WHAT  SHALL  WE  BELIEVE  ABOUT  GOD?     8i 

we  therefore  say  that  if  God  is  the  best  imaginable 
being,  his  character  must  be  like  that  attributed  to 
Jesus.  Another  way  of  putting  it  is  to  say  that 
we  believe  that  if  Jesus  could  be  always  accessible 
to  everyone,  as  he  was  to  the  people  he  met  in  the 
few  years  of  his  ministry  in  Palestine,  only  in  the 
spiritual  way,  and  without  the  limitations  under 
which  he  then  worked,  that  is  what  we  would  want 
God  to  be.  To  believe  that  God  is  thus  with  us 
in  the  loving  and  righteous  character  pictured  of 
Jesus  is  the  most  helpful  faith  which  we  can  think 
of  for  us  in  our  struggle  for  Christlike  character 
for  ourselves. 

31.  Belief  in  the  Christlike  character  of  God  is 
the  essential  part  of  belief  in  "God  the  Son"  or 
"the  second  person  in  the  Trinity." — The  Christian 
doctrine  of  the  Son  of  God  has  always  been  con- 
nected with  the  faith  that  the  life  of  Jesus  was  a 
peculiar  revelation  of  the  character  of  God  the 
Father,  or  of  the  absolute  God.  In  the  great  his- 
torical creeds,  the  theologians  tried  to  maintain 
the  truth  of  what  they  more  or  less  clearly 
recognized  to  be  a  contradiction,  but  which  they 
called  a  mystery,  i.e.,  that  Jesus  was  at  the  same 
time  omnipotent  and  omniscient  God,  and  man 
with  all  the  limitations  which  belong  to  real  human- 
ity. There  were  various  reasons  for  the  great 
effort  to  maintain  this  contradiction,  but  the  most 
important  of  them  may  be  summed  up  in  two: 


82     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

(i)  It  is  of  the  greatest  value  for  men  to  believe 
that  the  God  who  created  and  still  controls  the 
world  is  a  righteous,  loving,  forgiving,  helping 
person  who  may  be  approached  by  anyone  in  need 
and  never  in  vain,  just  as  the  man  Jesus,  as 
described  in  the  Gospels,  was  righteous,  loving, 
forgiving,  helping,  and  accessible  to  even  the  lowest 
and  most  unworthy.  (2)  It  is  of  very  great  value 
to  men  to  believe  that  God  himself  has  shown  men 
the  sort  of  life  he  would  have  them  live,  and  which, 
with  his  help,  it  is  possible  for  them  to  live,  and 
that  this  life  is  the  kind  of  life  which,  in  the  Gospels, 
Jesus  is  said  to  have  lived.  The  first  of  these 
reasons  shows  why  men  have  held  to  the  ''deity 
of  Christ,"  and  the  second,  why  they  have  held  to 
the  "humanity  of  Christ."  In  considering  the 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  we  are  mainly  concerned 
with  the  first  of  these  reasons.  (The  other  will  be 
considered  in  other  connections.) 

In  our  time  students  of  history  have  raised 
doubts  as  to  the  historical  truth  of  the  description 
of  the  life  of  Jesus  found  in  the  Gospels,  varying 
from  questions  as  to  the  accuracy  of  the  account 
of  certain  incidents,  to  the  position  that  no  person 
corresponding  to  the  Jesus  of  the  Gospels  ever 
lived  at  all.  While  the  latter  position  seems 
thoroughly  absurd,  and  we  believe  that  it  is  quite 
untenable,  we  must  face  the  fact  that  it  is  honestly 
held  by  good  and  intelligent  people  and  ask  what 


WHAT  SHALL  WE  BELIEVE  ABOUT  GOD  ?     83 

effect  such  a  position  would  necessarily  have  on 
their  faith.  Here  we  need  to  remember  that  our 
faith  about  God  is  not  knowledge,  but  faith;  and 
that  it  cannot  be  demonstrated  to  be  true,  but  is 
to  be  arrived  at  and  maintained  by  the  processes 
and  tests  which  we  have  seen  belong  to  ^'pure 
faith.''  The  question,  then,  as  to  whether  God  is 
such  a  righteous  and  loving  person  as  Jesus  was 
said  to  have  been,  cannot  be  answered  by  proving 
or  disproving  the  historicity  of  the  gospel  stories. 
Therefore,  in  so  far  as  we  are  asking  what  to  believe 
about  God,  we  are  not  concerned  directly  with 
the  facts  about  Jesus.  The  only  important  part 
of  the  faith  in  ''God  the  Son"  is  therefore  beHef 
in  the  Christlike  character  of  God,  and  this  cannot 
be  proved  by  the  gospel  history. 

32.  The  meaning  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  or  the  "third  person  in  the  Trinity,"  is  that 
God  is  not  only  the  creator  of  the  world  but  that  he 
is  present  in  all  the  world,  and  particularly  in  the 
hearts  of  men,  to  guide  and  bless. — Although  we 
are  not  to  confuse  the  Spirit  of  God  with  our  own 
spirits,  yet  we  believe  that  his  spirit  is  constantly 
with  ours,  to  prompt  good  and  pure  thoughts  and 
give  us  strength  to  do  whatever  we  should  do. 
Different  people  receive  greater  or  less  measures  of 
help  from  the  Holy  Spirit  at  different  times,  accord- 
ing to  their  special  needs,  and  readiness  to  receive 
his  help,  but  he  is  never  absent  from  the  world,  nor 


84     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

from  the  heart  of  any  man  unless  he  becomes 
absolutely  and  wholly  bad.  God's  Spirit  was  in 
the  world  and  in  men's  hearts  before  Christ  came, 
as  after,  and  in  heathen  lands  as  in  Christian. 
We  should  think  of  God  as  helping  us  in  every 
good  thing  that  we  think  or  do.  The  evidence  of 
the  presence  of  God  (for  the  Holy  Spirit  is  not  a 
part  of  God,  but  God  himself,  present  in  his  world) 
is  not  to  be  found  mainly  in  supernatural  mani- 
festations, ''speaking  with  tongues"  or  visions  or 
anything  of  that  sort,  but  in  the  power  that  makes 
men  righteous  and  does  whatever  good  is  done 
in  the  world.  We  cannot  be  sure  what  was  meant 
by  the  ''speaking  with  tongues"  reported  when 
the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  was  especially  shown 
on  the  day  of  Pentecost — it  seems  then  to  have 
been  some  means  by  which  men  of  different  lan- 
guages understood  the  gospel  message,  when  one 
man  was  speaking  in  one  language.  But  the 
"speaking  with  tongues"  referred  to  in  other  parts 
of  the  New  Testament  was  the  making  of  sounds 
unintelligible  until  interpreted,  and  Paul  speaks 
of  the  gift  of  tongues  as  one  of  Httle  practical  use. 
Whatever  it  was,  it  is  not  something  to  be  sought 
by  us  except  as  a  means  for  becoming,  or  helping 
others  to  become,  righteous.  We  have  abundant 
evidence  of  the  presence  and  power  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  the  turning  of  men  from  sin  to  righteous- 
ness, and  in  their  inspiration  to  good  works  of  all 


WHAT  SHALL  WE  BELIEVE  ABOUT  GOD  ?     85 

sorts,  and  this  is  the  kind  of  work  we  should  expect 
and  desire  God  to  do  in  the  world,  and  therefore 
the  best  evidence  of  his  activity. 

33.  Various  arguments  have  been  given  to 
"prove"  the  existence  of  the  Christian  God,  but 
none  of  them  is  conclusive. — One  such  argument  is 
that  we  cannot  help  thinking  of  the  greatest  and 
best  possible  being  as  existing.  But  that  is  not 
true,  for  many  people  do  not  believe  it.  Another 
argument  is  that  the  world  is  a  great  piece  of  work- 
manship or  effect,  and  that  as  every  effect  must 
have  an  adequate  cause,  we  must  hold  to  the  exist- 
ence of  a  great  and  intelligent  God  as  cause  of  the 
universe.  The  evidence  of  the  adaptation  of  one 
thing  to  another,  and  of  the  working  of  many 
things  together  to  produce  certain  results,  is  held 
to  prove  that  there  is  a  great  designer  or  a  mind 
with  great  purposes  behind  the  world,  as  it  is 
impossible  to  believe  that  all  that  we  see  and  know 
in  the  universe  can  be  the  result  of  the  blind  play 
of  mechanical  and  chemical  forces.  We  notice 
that  the  arguments  mentioned,  after  the  first  one, 
depend  for  their  value  on  the  truth  of  the  law 
^' every  event  must  have  an  adequate  cause," 
which  we  believe  to  be  completely  true  within  the 
realm  of  knowledge;  that  is,  with  regard  to  things 
which  are  perceptible  to  the  senses.  If,  however, 
we  try  to  go,  by  means  of  this  principle,  outside 
of  the  world  of  sense,  the  first  step,  it  is  thought. 


S6     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

brings  us  to  God,  but  the  question  immediately 
occurs,  *'What  caused  God?"  and  if  the  law  of 
cause  and  effect  is  to  be  relied  on,  we  cannot  stop 
with  God,  but  must  go  on  forever  from  effect  to 
cause,  and  will  never  get  to  a  stopping-place. 
The  arguments  we  have  given  help  to  make  it 
reasonable  to  believe  in  God — we  might  say  more 
reasonable  than  not  to— but  they  still  leave  doubt, 
particularly  as  to  the  existence  of  the  Christian 
God.  That  is,  the  argument  is  strong  for  the 
presence  in  the  universe,  as  creating  and  controlling 
force,  of  a  great  mind  or  intelligence,  but  it  is  not 
at  all  so  clear  that  that  mind  must  have  the  char- 
acter foimd  in  Christ,  and  that  is  the  most  impor- 
tant thing  of  all  to  believe. 

34.  The  strongest  reason  for  believing  in  the 
Christlike  God  is  the  value  which  that  faith  has  for 
the  development  of  righteous  character  and  the 
largest  life. — ^We  beheve  that  the  history  of  nations 
and  individuals  will  show  that  the  lives  which  have 
come  most  completely  under  the  influence  of  this 
faith  have  been  the  most  helpful  to  the  world  and 
the  most  fully  developed  in  character  and  expe- 
rience. This  can  be  seen  on  a  large  scale  by  com- 
paring Christendom  with  non-Christian  nations, 
and  Protestant  Christendom  (where  this  faith 
has  been  more  clear  and  central,  more  consistently 
held,  and  less  confused  by  priestcraft  and  by 
unnecessary  or  even  antagonistic  elements)  with 


WHAT  SHALL  WE  BELIEVE  ABOUT  GOD  ?     87 

countries  that  are  more  exclusively  Roman  or 
Greek  Catholic.  It  can  also  be  seen  in  the  study 
of  the  lives  of  great  statesmen  and  great  mission- 
aries and  in  general  in  our  everyday  experience  of 
the  best  and  most  reliable  and  lovable  people  we 
know. 

It  ought  not  to  be  difficult,  however,  for  us  to 
form  a  very  valuable  estimate  of  this  faith  apart 
from  the  effect  which  it  has  had  in  history.     We 
have  considered  in  previous  sections  the  value  of 
special  elements  in  this  faith  and  contrasted  it  with 
others.    We  cannot  see  how  a  better  belief  with 
regard  to  God  can  be  proposed  than  that  which 
finds  its  main  elements  in  the  Christian  faith  which 
we  have  sketched.     If  it  can,  we  should  accept 
it.    If  it  cannot,  we  should  accept  that  which  has 
been  outlined    here.     The  two  tests  of  the  best 
faith,  reasonableness  and  most  beneficial  effect  on 
character,  seem   to  be  most  fully  satisfied  in  the 
conception  of  the  Christlike  God,  and  these  tests 
are  being  constantly  made  in  human  experience. 
When  we  say  ''the  Christian  faith  works  well"  or 
enables  a  man  to  get  along  best  in  the  world,  we 
are  just  saying  that  it  meets  these  two  tests.     We 
hold  to  the  reality  of  the  power  or  force  called 
gravity,  because  the  calculations  made  and  action 
performed  on  the  assumption  that  it  is  real  and 
that  its  laws  are  those  discovered  by  Newton  never 
lead  to  error  or  failure,  and  that  fact   justifies 


88     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

our  assumption  of  the  truth  of  Newton's  theory. 
Just  so  the  universal  success  of  the  Hfe  guided  by 
Christian  faith  is  the  strongest  proof  of  its  truth 
which  we  can  have.  The  lives  of  most  so-called 
Christians  are  determined  only  in  a  very  limited 
degree  by  the  Christian  faith,  and  hence  are  very 
imperfect  arguments  for  its  truth;  but  most 
people  will  agree  that  even  these  imperfect  lives 
are  successful  in  the  highest  sense  (not  necessarily 
in  business  or  money-making,  but  in  the  attain- 
ment of  the  most  useful  and  best-developed  life) 
in  the  measure  that  they  are  determined  by  the 
Christian  faith. 

35.  By  speaking  of  God  as  Creator,  we  mean 
that  he  has  always  been  the  cause  and  has  had 
complete  control  of  the  development  of  the  uni- 
verse.— The  position  of  modern  science  that 
matter  is  indestructible  seems  also  to  imply  that 
it  has  never  been  created.  We  do  not  seem  yet  to 
have  come  to  final  conclusions  as  to  the  nature  of 
matter,  but  it  is  certainly  difficult  for  one  educated 
in  modern  science  to  believe  that  there  was  ever  a 
tune  when  the  primary  atoms  of  matter  did  not 
exist.  The  reason  why  theologians  have  considered 
it  important  to  believe  that  God  created  the  world 
out  of  nothing  (apart  from  the  fact  that  that  has 
been  understood  as  the  biblical  teaching)  is  that 
if  any  different  idea  was  held  it  seemed  necessary 
to   think   that  matter  was  something  which  was 


WHAT  SHALL  WE  BELIEVE  ABOUT  GOD  ?     89 

opposed  to  God,  and  which  God  had  gradually 
to  conquer  and  bring  under  his  control;    that  sin 
and  corruption  were  necessarily  connected  with 
our  material  bodies  because  they  were  matter,  and 
thus  that  matter  formed  a  permanent  force  opposed 
to  God's  will.     Some  of  the  ancient  philosophers 
held  such  doctrines,  and  they  have  largely  affected 
the  faith  and  practice  of  parts  of  the  Christian 
church.     However,   it  is  not  necessary  to  hold 
that  God  brought  matter  into  existence,  and  that 
there  was  a  time  when  it  did  not  exist,  in  order  to 
believe  that  it  has  always  been  completely  imder 
God's  control.     We  may  think  of  the  chemical, 
mechanical,  electrical,  and  any  other  forces  operat- 
ing in  matter  as  being  forms  of  the  will  or  the 
power  of  God,  and  thus  that  God  has  eternally  been 
immanent  in,  or  in  complete  mastery  over,  matter. 
This  view  is  consistent  with  the  positions  of  modern 
science  and  still  avoids  the  danger  which  theologians 
tried  to  avoid  by  the  doctrine  of  creation  out  of 
nothing.     This  is  also  decidedly  superior  to  that 
in  another  way,  for  the  tendency  in  that  theory 
was  to  say  that  God  had  made  the  world  perfect 
at  the  time  of  creation,  and  started  it  going  like 
a  watch  wound  up,  and  that  after  that  it  continued 
to  go  by  the  laws  he  had  established,  but  without 
needing  any  care  or  having  any  interference  from 
him  except  on  special  occasions  when  he  intervened 
with  a  miracle.     But  our  belief  in  the  continuous 


go     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

process  of  creation  holds  that  God  is  never  absent 
from  his  world,  but  is  in  constant  control  and 
manipulation  or  development  of  it,  and  that  thus 
the  natural  forces  are  working  out  his  righteous 
and  loving  will. 

36.  Evolution,  in  so  far  as  it  is  scientific  and  not 
a  system  of  philosophy  or  faith,  indicates  something 
of  the  order  and  method  of  God's  creation  of  the 
universe,  but  does  not  in  any  way  dispense  with 
belief  in  God  as  Creator. — Practically  all  scientists 
of  today  are  agreed  that  the  development  of  life 
as  we  know  it  on  the  earth  has  occupied  great 
periods  of  time,  probably  many  millions  of  years; 
that  there  has  been  progress  from  simpler  to  more 
complex  forms  of  life  through  such  long  periods; 
and  that  the  law  of  "the  survival  of  the  fittest  in 
the  struggle  for  existence"  is  one  of  the  factors 
in  this  development.  However,  no  scientist  can 
prove  that  this  development  either  could  have 
taken  place  or  did  take  place  without  the  constant 
control  of  a  great  mind,  that  is,  without  the 
constantly  directing  and  supporting  power  of  God. 
When  a  scientist  tells  you  that  he  can  completely 
explain  the  universe  without  the  theory  of  the 
activity  of  a  mind  in  its  development  from  the 
first,  he  is  merely  displaying  his  ignorance  and 
foolishness — a  great  scientist  would  know  better. 
But  if  he  says  that  it  is  more  reasonable  to  believe 
that  the  universe  has  attained  to  its  present  stage 


WHAT  SHALL  WE  BELIEVE  ABOUT  GOD  ?     91 

of  development  without  the  activity  of  a  creative 
mind  than  with  it,  then  we  should  note  that  that 
is  his  faith  or  ''philosophy"  and  not  his  knowledge, 
and  that  he  cannot  prove  it,  scientifically,  and  no 
scientist  will  ever  be  able  to  do  so  from  the  very 
nature  of  the  case.  Then  we  should  further  ask 
ourselves  if  his  theory  really  is  more  reasonable, 
and  if  our  thought  is  careful  and  deep  we  shall 
probably  conclude  that  it  is  not;  for  the  very  word 
"evolution"  means  the  "rolling  out"  or  "unroll- 
ing" and  implies  that  something  has  been  rolled 
up.  That  is,  it  is  just  as  absurd  for  the  evolu- 
tionist to  try  to  account  for  mind  by  the  develop- 
ment of  matter  which  has  no  mind  in  it  as  for 
a  person  to  believe  that  a  "magician"  can  get 
money  out  of  a  hat  in  which  there  is  none.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  evolution  has  as  yet  no  theory  to 
account  for  the  first  appearance  of  animal  or 
vegetable  life  in  matter,  nor  for  the  first  appearance 
of  sensation  or  of  self-consciousness  such  as  we 
know  in  the  human  mind.  Probably  it  will  always 
be  immensely  easier  to  conceive  of  the  development 
of  the  universe  as  we  know  it,  under  the  direction 
and  control  of  mind,  than  without  such  control. 
But  when  we  come  to  apply  our  final  test  to  these 
two  contrary  faiths  (i)  that  no  creative  mind  has 
been  active  in  the  development  of  the  universe, 
and  (2)  that  the  universe  is  the  work  of  a  Christ- 
like God,  we  find  that  the  latter  is  required  to 


92     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

satisfy  our  demand  for  the  best  faith — that  which 
will  have  the  best  effect  upon  character.  That  has 
already  been  shown. 

37.  We  should  believe  in  the  Providence  of 
God,  that  is,  that  he  has  such  complete  control  of 
the  universe  that  he  is  accomplishing  his  will  in 
it. — This  faith  is  involved  in  that  of  God  as 
Creator  as  explained  in  section  35,  but  is  worthy 
of  special  emphasis.  Older  ideas  of  God  as  Creator 
were  separable  from  that  of  God  as  preserving  and 
guiding  the  development  of  the  universe  which  he 
had  made.  We  think  rather  of  creation  as  a  per- 
manent process,  involving  the  continuous  care 
and  control  of  God.  If  we  consider  the  wonderful 
progress  which  has  been  made  in  the  development 
of  the  imiverse  from  the  chaotic  forms  of  matter 
to  the  various  forms  of  life,  culminating  (so  far  as 
we  know)  in  human  life  where  by  far  the  most 
remarkable  characteristics  are  mental  and  moral 
rather  than  physical,  it  is  easy  to  believe  that  a 
personal  being  of  the  greatest  intelligence  and  most 
perfect  character  has  been  in  constant  control  of 
these  forces  of  the  universe  and  determined  how 
they  should  develop.  So  we  should  believe  that 
God  is  in  such  control  at  the  present  time,  that  he 
can  bring  to  pass  that  which  will  be  for  the  best 
interest,  the  highest  good  of  his  human  children. 

This  belief  should  take  a  reasonable  form,  and 
not  fail  to  consider  that  God  himself  is  in  some  ways 


WHAT  SHALL  WE  BELIEVE  ABOUT  GOD  ?     93 

limited.  When  we  say  that  God  is  all-powerful, 
we  must  not  understand  that  to  mean  that  he  can 
make  black  be  white,  nor  make  what  has  happened 
in  history  not  to  have  happened,  or  any  other 
absurd  things.  He  is  limited  by  his  own  nature 
and  will,  so  that  he  cannot  contradict  himself, 
cannot  do  that  which  would  be  unrighteous  or 
unloving,  nor  go  contrary  to  that  which  he  sees 
would  be  the  best  way  to  accomplish  his  purposes. 
We  shall  also  see  later  that  he  is  limited  by  the 
wills  of  human  beings  who  are  not  in  harmony  with 
him  or  who  disobey  him.  We  cannot  say  that 
he  is  in  perfect  control  of  bad  men,  nor,  indeed,  of 
anyone  who  is  not  perfectly  good.  But  we  may 
believe  that  he,  with  all  the  resources  of  the  uni- 
verse and  of  his  infinite  mind,  will  find  ways  of 
helping  and  caring  for  those  who  are  trying  to  do 
his  will,  that  is,  to  become  righteous;  and  that  he 
will  finally  accomplish  his  will  completely  in  the 
universe,  although  that  may  take  a  very  long  time. 
38.  We  should  believe  that  pain  and  all 
physical  evil  are  intended  by  God  for  the  good  of 
humanity,  especially  for  the  discipline  and  develop- 
ment of  character,  and  will  accomplish  this  result 
in  so  far  as  men  will  permit  them  to  do  so. — The 
problem  of  evil  is  a  great  one  and  we  can  here 
consider  only  the  fundamental  prmciples  of  our 
belief  about  physical  evil;  that  is,  pain  and  suffer- 
ing of  the  body,  and  every  kind  of  deprivation  or 


94     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

loss  except  that  which  is  moral — sin  and  sinful 
nature.  The  nature  and  cause  of  sin  is  considered 
in  the  next  chapter  and  we  cannot  hold  that  God 
is  at  all  responsible  for  it  except  that  he  made  it 
possible  for  man  to  sin  when  he  made  man  free, 
and  that  freedom  is  the  one  condition  of  the  possi- 
bility of  the  development  of  moral  character. 

We  can  easily  see  that  pain  and  evil  are  of  great 
value  in  the  education  of  the  race  and  development 
of  character,  where  they  are  evidently  the  conse- 
quence of  sin,  for  they  help  to  show  sin  in  its  true 
horrible  colors,  and  to  turn  people  away  from  it. 
The  pain  which  I  suffer  on  account  of  my  own  sin 
does  very  much  to  turn  me  from  my  sin.  The  pain 
which  I  suffer,  or  those  whom  I  love  suffer,  on 
account  of  the  sins  of  others,  helps  me  to  strive 
with  all  my  might  to  make  all  men  good,  to  get 
sin  out  of  the  world,  to  promote  righteous  character 
in  society  as  a  whole  and  in  all  its  parts. 

It  is  not  so  easy  to  see  the  value  of  suffering 
where  its  connection  with  sin  is  not  direct  and 
evident,  but  we  should  be  able  to  recognize  here 
also  great  advantages  that  come  to  individuals  and 
to  the  race  by  its  means.  We  all  know  how  some 
of  the  highest  virtues,  sympathy,  patience,  courage, 
heroism,  loyalty,  and  love,  are  often  tested  and 
developed  by  suffering  as  they  could  be  in  no  other 
way  which  we  can  imagine.  We  can  understand 
that  faith  in   God  is  comparatively  easy  while 


WHAT  SHALL  WE  BELIEVE  ABOUT  GOD  ?     95 

everything  goes  well,  but  that  its  true  test  as  well 
as  its  greater  value  is  shown  when  the  pain  comes 
and  things  seem  to  go  wrong.  The  faith  which  will 
not  stand  the  test  of  suffering  even  when  no  good 
seems  to  be  in  view  is  a  very  weak  faith,  and  that 
which  survives  a  severe  test  has  acquired  much 
strength  by  the  test— strength  which  may  be  of  the 
highest  value  in  helping  others  to  the  same  faith. 

But  there  is  also  an  education  of  society  by 
means  of  pain.  It  is  suffering  or  its  possibility 
which  has  been  one  of  the  greatest  spurs  to  dis- 
covery and  invention,  to  progress  in  civilization, 
in  every  direction.  Common  perils  and  great 
calamities  have  perhaps  done  more  than  anything 
else  to  unite  the  people  of  one  nation,  and  to  bring 
together  different  nations  in  a  common  sympathy 
and  works  for  the  common  good.  The  earthquake 
in  one  city  or  the  famine  in  one  land,  which  brings 
gifts  and  expressions  of  sympathy  from  all  over 
the  world,  does  more  than  can  be  calculated  to 
promote  the  spirit  of  universal  brotherhood  which 
is  the  highest  religious  and  social  ideal. 

No  explanation  of  the  immeasurable  values 
which  flow  from  the  existence  or  the  possibility 
of  pain  will  be  able  to  satisfy  all  who  are  in  the 
deep  experiences  of  sorrow;  but  all  should  realize 
that  their  faith  in  God  involves  their  faith  that 
''all  things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that 
love  God,"  and  should  cling  to  this  faith  until  the 


96     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

particular  uses  of  the  pain  shall  have  become 
clearer.  And  it  is  to  be  noted  that  that  event 
which  perhaps  causes  more  and  deeper  pain  than 
any  other  in  human  life — the  death  of  a  loved  one 
— must  lose  a  very  large  part  of  the  terror  which 
still  clings  to  it,  when  our  faith  in  a  loving  God 
becomes  strong  enough  to  make  us  really  believe 
that  the  loved  one  is  not  dead,  but  only  passed  on 
to  a  larger  and  more  beautiful  life  than  the  one  he 
has  left,  where  we  shall  later  see  and  know  him 
again.  Thus  the  best  faith,  by  its  interpretation 
and  use  of  pain  and  suffering,  will  actually  make  it 
a  blessing  to  man  and  society,  whereas  without 
such  a  faith  it  would  remain,  as  it  seems  to  do  for 
some  people,  and  may  actually  do  for  those  who 
refuse  to  turn  to  righteousness  and  the  higher  life, 
unmitigated  evil.  But  in  this  case  God  cannot 
be  blamed.  He  means  it  for  good,  and  for  him 
who  chooses  the  evil  way,  even  the  greatest  pleas- 
ures and  greatest  blessings  which  God  can  give 
must  be  really  evil. 

39.  We  should  believe  that  God  can  and  will  do 
anything  which  is  consistent  with  the  character  of 
a  righteous,  loving  Father  of  mankind  and  Creator 
of  the  universe,  and  not  think  that  the  partial  dis- 
coveries which  men,  especially  scientists,  have 
made,  of  some  of  his  methods  of  working,  preclude 
our  belief  that  he  may  work  in  many  other  ways,  of 
which  we  have  as  yet  little  or  no  knowledge. — The 


WHAT  SHALL  WE  BELIEVE  ABOUT  GOD  ?     97 

question  we  have  especially  in  mind  here  is  that  of 
^'miracles."  There  are  various  wrong  ideas  of 
miracles  which  we  should  not  hold.  We  cannot 
believe  that  God  would  or  could  do  anything  con- 
trary to  his  own  character.  This  we  have  indi- 
cated in  the  last  paragraph.  It  is  a  part  of  the 
character  of  God  that  he  should  be  consistent  in 
his  action,  just  as  the  best  men  we  know  are  con- 
sistent. The  better  a  man  is,  the  surer  we  can  be 
of  what  he  would  do  under  any  given  circumstances. 
So  we  should  expect  consistency  and  not  arbi- 
trariness or  caprice  in  God's  action.  But  men  are 
constantly  using  the  forces  and  material  of  nature 
to  accomplish  their  will,  and  do  what  matter  and 
force  without  their  added  intelligence  and  will 
would  never  accompHsh.  So  we  should  not  think 
of  God  as  unable  to  use  the  forces  of  nature  for 
his  own  purposes,  but  rather  as  ever  using  them  in 
the  fullest  degree  as  a  man  would  do  if  his  power 
and  intelligence  were  infinite  instead  of  finite. 
A  man  in  his  works  of  invention  and  skill  never 
interrupts  or  interferes  with  the  laws  of  nature. 
He  makes  use  of  them  to  accomplish  his  purposes. 
We  have  a  right,  then,  to  think  of  God  as  accom- 
plishing his  will  through  natural  laws  (as  well  as 
spiritual  laws) ,  and  not  as  having  to  suspend  them 
in  order  to  do  what  he  chooses. 

When  we  think  of  God  as  doing  his  will  in 
a  consistent,  regular,  uniform  way,  that  is  by  no 


98     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

means  to  exclude  real  answer  to  prayer — that  is, 
the  doing  by  God  of  things,  in  view  of  our  prayer, 
different  from  what  he  would  have  done  if  we  did 
not  pray.  Here  again  let  us  consider  the  action 
of  the  best  men.  There  are  good  reasons  why  they 
should  always  (that  is,  regularly  and  uniformly)  do 
things  for  other  people  (when  the  requests  are  right 
and  lie  within  their  power  to  accomplish)  when 
they  are  asked  to  do  them,  which  they  would  not 
do  if  they  were  not  asked.  The  acceding  to  the 
request  brings  the  parties  into  closer  and  more 
sympathetic  relationship,  and  the  thmgs  desired 
are  appreciated  much  more  if  granted  in  answer  tc 
requests  than  if  they  were  given  without  the 
requests.  There  is  no  reason  why  we  should  not 
think  that  God  acts  in  the  same  way. 

We  may  believe  that  God  acts  according  to 
law,  without  holding  that  we  know  already  all 
the  laws  according  to  which  he  acts.  While  the 
discoveries  in  science  in  the  last  century  or  two 
are  marvelous,  they  are  but  as  a  drop  in  an  ocean 
when  compared  with  the  universe  of  reality  which 
remains  unexplored.  Because  we  do  not  yet 
know  how  God  could  accomplish  something  which 
is  said  to  have  been  done  in  the  past,  or  which  we 
wish  might  be  done  in  the  future,  is  no  good  reason 
for  saying  that  he  has  not  done  it  or  could  not  do 
it.  The  first  question  to  ask  is,  Would  the  result 
desired  probably  be  according  to  the  wise  and 


WHAT  SHALL  WE  BELIEVE  ABOUT  GOD  ?     99 

loving  will  of  God  ?  If  it  would  not,  we  should  not 
expect  God  to  do  it.  If  it  would,  we  should  pray 
that  he  might  do  it,  if  the  first  principle  of  our 
prayer  is  the  desire  that  his  will,  that  is,  that  which 
is  really  best,  should  be  done.  Then  we  should 
take  the  result  as  manifesting  his  will  in  the 
circumstances. 

40.  The  value  of  wonderful  works  or  "mir- 
acles," in  so  far  as  they  are  thought  of  as 
coming  from  God,  does  not  lie  in  the  power  that  is 
shown,  but  in  the  character  that  is  revealed. — No 
one  can  tell  how  much  power  may  eventually  come 
under  the  control  of  man,  nor  how  great  powers 
might  belong  to  other  spirits  than  God.  Human 
beings  could  never  possibly  perceive  any  works  so 
wonderful  that  they  could  rightly  say,  "No  power 
but  God's  could  do  this";  for  a  finite  being  cannot 
perceive  a  work  of  infinite  power  and  know  it  to 
be  such,  and  any  wonderful  event  which  we  could 
imagine  would  require  only  power  enough  to  ac- 
complish it,  and  no  more.  Men  can  do  things  to- 
day which  a  hundred  years  ago  would  have  been 
considered  miracles  manifesting  absolutely  divine 
power.  The  inventions  of  science — steam  engine, 
telephone,  telegraph  with  and  without  wires,  air- 
ships, electrical  apparatus  of  all  sorts — show  one 
kind  of  modern  miracles.  The  discoveries  in  the 
realm  of  disease  and  healing  are  perhaps  even  more 
wonderful.     The  prevention  and  the  cure  of  former 


lOO     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

great  scourges  of  humanity,  the  healing  of  diseases 
regarded  for  thousands  of  years  as  incurable,  even 
of  leprosy,  and  the  healing  of  certain  forms  of 
disease  by  carefully  studied  and  applied  mental 
treatment  ("psychotherapy")  are  among  the 
wonders  of  the  present  age,  which  only  a  short 
time  ago  would  have  been  imagined  only  as  mani- 
festations of  the  power  of  God,  absolutely  beyond 
the  control  of  men.  It  has  probably  already  been 
accomplished  in  various  cases  that  life  has  been 
reinstated  by  means,  e.g.,  of  electricity,  where 
it  had  actually  ceased,  i.e.,  where  the  heart  had 
ceased  its  beating  and  the  lungs  their  breathing; 
and  it  is  quite  conceivable  that  this  might  be  done 
frequently  in  the  future,  when  decay  has  not  pro- 
ceeded too  far.  And  it  is  to  be  noted  that  the 
accomplishment  of  these  results  does  not  depend 
on  the  holding  of  any  particular  religious  faith. 
The  nerve  specialist,  the  hypnotist,  the  Christian 
Scientist,  and  the  faith-healer,  with  all  shades  of 
belief  and  unbelief,  accomplish  the  same  kinds 
of  healing  without  medicine,  when  the  disease  is 
of  the  form  which  yields  to  that  sort  of  treat- 
ment. The  wonderful  nature  of  an  event,  then, 
or  the  amount  of  power  which  seems  to  be  in- 
volved in  it,  is  no  indication  that  it  comes  from 
God,  and  it  proves  nothing  with  regard  to  the 
character  of  the  person  through  whom  the  event 
is  caused. 


WHAT  SHALL  WE  BELIEVE  ABOUT  GOD  ?     loi 

The  only  way  of  telling  whether  anything  is  a 
manifestation  of  God,  as  the  Christian  conceives 
him,  is  to  see  whether  it  reveals  the  character  of 
God — love  and  righteousness.  We  should  beHeve 
that  every  event  which  shows  the  spirit  of  love 
and  goodness  in  it,  that  is,  which  is  evidently 
intended  to  manifest  this  spirit,  and  flows  from 
such  motives,  is  from  God.  If  it  comes  through 
human  beings,  and  shows  such  good  motives  in 
them,  it  proves  that  to  that  extent  they  are  in 
harmony  with  God  and  his  agents  in  the  world. 
It  does  not,  however,  prove  that  they  are  different 
from  other  people  in  other  ways — that  they  can 
foretell  the  future,  that  they  cannot  sin,  that  they 
can  actually  do  supernatural  works,  or  anything 
else  of  that  sort. 


CHAPTER  V 

MAN,  SIN,  AND  SALVATION 

"He  arose  and  came  to  his  father.  But  while  he  was 
yet  afar  off  his  father  saw  him  and  was  moved  with  com- 
passion and  ran  and  fell  on  his  neck  and  kissed  him." — 
Luke  15:20. 

41.  Man  is  a  spirit  dwelling  in  a  body  but  not 
entirely  dependent  upon  it. — By  a  spirit  we  mean  a 
being  having  power  to  think,  feel,  and  will.  Each 
of  us  knows  directly  that  he  has  these  powers  and  is 
therefore  a  spirit.  We  have  learned  from  psychol- 
ogy that  there  is  a  parallelism  between  the  thoughts 
and  feelings  which  make  up  the  stream  of  con- 
sciousness and  the  processes  in  our  nervous  systems. 
And  it  is  quite  certain  that  in  normal  human  life 
our  memories,  thoughts,  and  feelings  are  dependent 
for  their  presence  in  consciousness  upon  the  proper 
condition  and  working  of  the  brain  and  nerves. 
No  one,  however,  can  imagine  the  nature  of  the 
connection  between  nervous  processes  and  thoughts 
or  feelings;  and  however  they  may  be  related,  it  is 
clear  that  they  are  not  identical,  for  a  thought  or  a 
feeling  has  no  properties  in  common  with  what  we 
mean  by  matter  or  energy.  We  know  also  that 
although  our  consciousness  is  largely  determined 
by  the  situation  and  condition  of  our  bodies,  the 
converse  is  also  true.  We  may  determine  what 
102 


MAN,  SIN,  AND  SALVATION  103 

sensations  we  will  attend  to,  and  where  our  bodies 
shall  be.  Our  spirits  are,  then,  not  wholly  depend- 
ent upon  our  bodies,  and  we  have  some  good 
reasons  for  holding  that  they  may  continue  to  exist 
without  bodies  like  those  we  have  at  present.  This 
will  be  considered  when  we  study  the  doctrine  of 
immortality. 

So  far  as  religion  is  concerned,  it  is  not  par- 
ticularly important  what  theory  we  hold  in  regard 
to  how  man  came  into  being,  providing  we  recog- 
nize that  God  brought  him  into  being.  There  is 
good  reason  to  believe  that  man  on  his  physical  side 
has  developed  from  the  manlike  ape.  This  is 
certainly  no  more  degrading  a  conception  than  the 
one  that  he  was  made  directly  from  lifeless  earth. 
The  important  question  is  not  from  what  condition 
or  form  man  sprang  but  what  he  is,  and  although 
man's  body  is  in  all  essential  respects  like  the  bodies 
of  other  animals,  his  spirit  places  him  almost 
infinitely  above  them  all. 

Tracing  man's  ascent  through  lower  forms  of 
life  in  nowise  accounts  for  him.  There  is  really  no 
accounting  for  life  without  life,  nor  for  thought 
without  thought;  and  no  materiaHstic  theory  can 
do  any  more  than  to  describe  some  of  the  steps  in 
the  process  by  which  living  and  spiritual  beings 
have  reached  the  stage  to  which  humanity  has 
attained.  We  cannot  know  how  man  came  into 
being,  but  it  is  far  more  reasonable  to  believe  that 


I04     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

it  was  through  the  will  and  power  of  God  than 
through  the  play  of  non-spiritual  energy  upon 
lifeless  matter. 

42.  In  the  nature  of  each  man  there  is  a  narrow 
margin  of  freedom  of  choice  and  action,  within 
which  life  is  not  determined  by  his  surroundings 
nor  by  the  character  which  he  has  inherited  and 
developed  up  to  that  point. — Psychology  as  a 
science  is  '' deterministic."  It  assumes  that  if  all 
the  circumstances  affecting  a  man  in  any  given  case 
could  be  known,  and  the  character  and  habits 
which  he  has  developed  up  to  the  given  moment 
were  known,  it  could  be  predicted  absolutely  what 
he  would  think  and  choose  and  do  the  next  moment, 
so  that  his  whole  life  moves  on  with  absolute 
machine-like  precision,  and  under  its  circumstances 
could  not  possibly  be  anything  else  than  'it  is. 
This  conception  of  life,  however,  does  not  cor- 
respond at  all  to  what  every  man  feels  to  be  true  of 
himself  and  of  others.  We  feel  that  we  could 
choose  the  better  or  the  worse,  and  that  we  are 
worthy  of  blame  when  we  choose  the  worse,  and 
deserve  praise  or  approval  when  we  choose  the 
better.  Of  course  this  feeling  is  entirely  deceptive 
if  as  a  matter  of  fact  we  could  not  choose  other 
than  we  do.  In  that  case  there  can  be  no  real 
responsibiHty,  sin  or  righteousness,  praiseworthi- 
ness  or  blameworthiness.  But  psychology  cannot 
deny   the   universal   presence   of    this  feeling   of 


MAN,  SIN,  AND  SALVATION  105 

freedom  and  of  responsibility,  and  on  the  other 
hand  it  can  never  fully  account  for  any  man's 
thought  and  action  in  actual  practice,  and  can 
therefore  never  prove  this  feeling  to  be  a  mistaken 
one. 

We  should  therefore  hold  that  man  is  free  to 
choose  the  better  or  worse,  as  this  feeling  best  fits 
our  experience  and  is  most  encouraging  to  the  effort 
to  become  righteous.  This  belief  in  freedom  is  a 
matter  of  faith.  Its  truth  cannot  be  demon- 
strated any  more  than  the  truth  of  determinism. 
But  it  is  a  better  faith  and  therefore  we  ought  to 
hold  it. 

The  margin  of  freedom  is  a  narrow  one,  but 
therefore  of  all  the  more  significance.  A  man 
may  turn  quite  around  and  start  in  the  opposite 
direction  in  a  narrow  passage,  and  this  is  what 
occurs  in  ''conversion."  But  a  large  part  of  each 
life  is  determined  by  its  character  and  environ- 
ment, so  that  an  intimate  friend  can  generally 
tell  what  a  man  will  do  in  a  given  case.  Yet 
in  any  given  case  if  for  that  particular  man 
two  choices  are  offered  which  both  attract  him, 
he  may  choose  the  better,  and  thus  grow  stronger 
and  better  in  character;  or  the  worse,  and 
take  a  step  downward.  The  sum  of  these  free 
and  unpredictable  choices  and  their  general 
direction  determine  the  moral  destiny  of  the 
man. 


io6     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

43.  Belief  that  God  has  given  man  freedom 
means  belief  that  God  has  limited  his  own  power 
and  knowledge. — There  are  two  reasons  why  men 
have  held  that  God  knows  everything  which 
happens  or  shall  occur  in  the  future,  and  that  he 
has  determined  beforehand  exactly  how  everything 
shall  be.  The  first  is  that  belief  in  the  perfection 
of  God  seems  to  require  that  he  be  absolutely 
omniscient  and  omnipotent,  and  the  second  that 
we  need  to  believe  in  this  foreknowledge  and  pre- 
destination in  order  to  believe  that  his  kingdom 
will  come,  and  that  he  will  be  able  to  accomplish 
his  will  and  to  help  those  who  pray  to  him.  But 
the  difficulties  and  loss  which  come  from  such 
behef  about  God  are  greater  than  the  gain.  For 
if  God  predestines  all  that  occurs,  then  he  and  he 
alone  is  responsible  for  all  the  sin  and  evil  in  the 
world,  and  cannot  then  be  held  to  be  a  really 
righteous  and  loving  God.  And  it  does  not  really 
help  matters  to  say  that  God  knows  everything 
before  it  occurs,  and  yet  man  is  free  to  act,  and 
is  responsible  for  sin;  for  it  is  impossible  to  con- 
ceive of  an  event  being  known  beforehand  unless 
it  is  determined  beforehand,  and  if  it  is  determined 
then  man  is  not  free  to  choose  at  all. 

Thus  the  highest  Christian  faith,  and  that 
which  corresponds  best  to  our  experience  and  has 
the  strongest  tendency  to  make  us  feel  our  moral 
responsibility  and  act   righteously,   is   that   God 


MAN,  SIN,  AND  SALVATION  107 

has  given  to  man  a  certain  degree  of  freedom, 
and  thereby  Hmited  both  his  own  power  and 
his  knowledge.  We  should  hold,  however,  that  his 
power  still  remains  so  great  and  his  knowledge  so 
thorough  that  he  will  accomplish  his  will  at  last, 
and  will  help  every  man  who  trusts  in  him,  even 
though  he  is  hindered  in  the  accomplishment  of  his 
will  by  every  man  who  sins  against  him — for  sin  is 
certainly  opposition  to  his  will,  since  he  is  good. 

44.  A  sin  is  any  failure  to  choose  the  best  that 
one  knows,  to  live  absolutely  righteously,  or  to  will 
to  act  from  the  best  possible  motives.  The  sin  lies 
entirely  in  the  motive;  no  action  considered  by 
itself  is  sinful. — In  section  6  it  was  explained 
that  righteousness  is  doing  what  we  would  want 
everyone  else  to  do  under  the  same  circumstances. 
To  choose  to  do  this  is  to  choose  the  best  that  one 
knows,  for  we  would  want  everyone  to  do  the  best 
thing  for  the  welfare  of  others,  when  we  were 
among  the  others  concerned  by  his  action.  So 
finally  we  should  want  everyone  to  act  from  the 
best  possible  motives,  or,  more  concretely,  from 
love  to  others.  Since  this  is  righteousness,  any 
failure  to  attain  this  is  sin. 

Sin  may  also  be  defined  as  wilful  disobedience  to 
God,  and  this  is  a  more  truly  religious  definition. 
The  reason  for  beginning  with  another  definition  is 
that  it  shows  more  clearly  and  directly  the  nature  of 
sin,  and  would  apply  to  a  man  who  did  not  believe 


io8     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

in  God  or  who  said  that  we  cannot  know  what  his 
will  is  so  as  to  obey  him.  It  is  evident  that  if 
there  be  a  perfectly  righteous  and  lovmg  God,  he 
would  require  nothing  more  or  less  of  man  than 
perfectly  righteous  action,  and  such  action  we  have 
defined  above.  On  the  other  hand,  every  man 
who  believes  in  duty  or  righteousness  at  all  must 
acknowledge  his  obligation  to  be  righteous,  whether 
he  believe  in  God  or  not. 

It  has  been  thought  that  God  has  given  to  men 
commandments  with  regard  to  certain  actions  or 
kinds  of  actions;  that  he  should  do  some  and  refrain 
from  others ;  and  that  sin  is  a  failure  to  obey  these 
injunctions.  But  in  our  study  of  the  nature  of 
the  Bible  and  how  to  use  it,  we  have  seen  that,  in 
order  to  be  able  to  recognize  a  command  as  being 
from  God  and  for  us,  we  must  first  be  able  to  see 
that  it  is  a  command  which  requires  us  to  do  right. 
Even  the  Ten  Commandments  caimot  be  considered 
as  God's  commands  to  any  particular  person  imtil 
he  sees  that  action  from  the  highest  motives  would 
require  him  to  obey  them.  In  the  case  of  most  of 
them,  however,  it  is  so  evident  that  the  highest 
motives  would  require  compliance  that  their  au- 
thority is  immediately  felt  by  almost  everyone. 

Many  have  difficulty  at  first  in  realizing  that 
no  action  considered  by  itself  is  sinful.  Until  they 
have  considered  it  carefully  they  might  think  that 
even  if  I  did  some  act  out  of  the  deepest  love  for 


MAN,  SIN,  AND  SALVATION  109 

others  it  might  be  sinful.  Take  murder  or  theft, 
they  would  say,  arc  they  not  always  wrong  ?  But 
that  depends  on  what  is  meant  by  those  terms. 
They  usually  imply  some  evil  motive,  and  action 
from  an  evil  motive  is,  as  we  have  said,  always 
wrong.  But  it  may  be  possible  to  kill  a  man  from 
the  highest  motives,  for  example,  in  a  surgical 
operation,  in  the  effort  to  save  his  life,  or  when  he 
is  a  dangerous  criminal,  in  the  effort  to  save  the 
life  of  someone  else  whom  he  is  trying  to  kill.  So 
also  we  could  imagme  circumstances  where  every- 
one would  consider  it  his  duty  to  take  someone's 
else  property  in  order  to  avert  some  disaster, 
although  to  take  the  same  thing  under  ordinary 
circumstances  would  be  ''stealing" — action  from  a 
selfish  motive  and  therefore  sinful.  So  with  every 
kind  of  action,  the  motive  determines  its  rightness 
or  sinfulness.  It  will  be  easier  to  understand  this 
if  we  ask  what  motive  could  make  a  man  refrain 
from  doing  what  his  love  for  others  prompted  him 
to  do.  Suppose  I  thmk  God  requires  me  to  go  to 
church  at  a  certain  hour.  It  will  therefore  be 
sinful  for  me  to  do  anything  which  would  hinder 
me  from  such  church  attendance.  But  my  love  to 
others  requires  me  in  given  circumstances  to  help 
a  man  who  has  "fallen  among  thieves,"  just  at  the 
hour  for  church.  If  I  "pass  by  on  the  other  side" 
and  leave  the  man  for  the  church,  it  will  be  because 
I  desire  the  reward  I  think  God  will  give  me  for 


no     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

obeying  him,  more  than  the  welfare  of  the  man.  In 
other  words,  I  obey  God  from  selfish  motives.  But 
a  good  God  could  not  be  pleased  with  such  selfish 
action,  and,  as  Jesus  said,  the  commandment  to  love 
one's  neighbor  as  oneself  is  like  to  that  to  love  God 
with  all  one's  heart,  and  if  one  neglects  the  former 
he  cannot  do  the  latter. 

It  is  common  to  say  that  our  consciences  tell  us 
what  is  right  and  wrong,  and  accordingly  to  define 
sin  as  disobedience  to  conscience.  This  is  well  if 
conscience  be  rightly  defined  and  understood. 
Conscience  is  the  moral  judgment,  the  power  which 
values  motives  and  decides  which  is  the  better. 
To  obey  conscience  is  therefore  to  act  from  the 
motive  which  one  judges  to  be  highest  and  best  or 
to  do  what  we  would  want  everyone  else  to  do  in 
similar  circumstances.  But  many  people  think  of 
conscience  as  being  the  feeling  of  discomfort  or 
of  disapprobation  with  which  they  view  certain 
actions  planned  or  accomplished  in  their  own  lives, 
a  feeling  which  in  many  cases  has  no  relation  to 
their  judgment  of  the  motives  which  they  would 
have  or  did  have  in  doing  the  act  under  considera- 
tion. This  feeling  in  such  cases  is  due  to  the 
taking-over  of  the  views  or  feelings  of  others  so 
that  their  disapprobation  is  feared  or  is  accepted 
without  criticism  as  one's  own.  If  the  judgment  of 
conscience  is  applied  to  the  motives  for  the  action 
(which  in  any  given  case  must  be  largely  deter- 


MAN,  SIN,  AND  SALVATION  iii 

mined  by  what  the  person  thinks  its  results  will  be) 
then  conscience  is  the  guide,  and  the  only  proper 
guide,  of  conduct.  The  Bible,  books  of  ethics, 
civil  laws,  and  other  rules  for  conduct  must  be 
used  in  order  to  form  the  best  judgment  as  to  the 
results  of  different  lines  of  action,  and  for  the 
strengthening  of  the  higher  motives — they  are  all 
aids  to  the  conscience  but  can  never  take  its  place, 
any  more  than  the  sun  or  lamps  of  any  sort  can 
take  the  place  of  a  man's  eyes. 

45.  The  worst  result  of  sinning  is  the  formation 
of  a  sinful  character,  or  the  gradual  estrangement 
of  oneself  from  God  and  good  people.— The  pain 
and  loss  which  result  from  sin  may  under  certain 
circumstances  be  blessings,  but  the  sin  itself  works 
only  evil  in  the  sinner.  Punishment  for  sin  can  be 
intended  only  to  prevent  sin  and  reform  the  sinner, 
and  so  must  be  considered  as  really  good,  but  the 
sin  itself  has  no  good  results  in  the  sinner.  Every 
sinful  act  makes  it  easier  to  do  the  act  again  and 
tends  to  establish  the  habit.  Every  sinful  choice 
tends  to  make  the  choice  of  the  lower  motives 
habitual.  Thus  continual  sinning  may  so  fix  the 
character  in  sinful  ways  that  it  will  become  ahnost 
and  perhaps  quite  impossible  for  the  sinner  to 
change  and  become  good.  When  in  religious 
language  we  speak  of  a  man  as  being  lost,  we  mean 
that  he  has  formed  habits  of  yielding  to  the  lower 
motives  and  is  becoming  more  and  more  degraded 


112     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

in  character  so  that  if  he  keeps  on  in  this  direction 
he  will  finally  lose  everything  good  there  is  in  him. 

We  can  have  real  friendship  and  fellowship  with 
people  only  when  we  can  sympathize  with  them, 
enjoy  what  they  enjoy,  sorrow  in  their  sorrow, 
value  things  somewhat  as  they  value  them.  But 
for  God  and  good  people  the  highest  values  are  those 
of  character.  The  more  I  yield  to  lower  motives 
the  less  sympathy  I  have  for  those  who  prefer  the 
higher,  and  the  farther  I  remove  myself  from  them. 
And  not  only  is  the  same  thing  true  about  our  rela- 
tions to  God,  but  every  sin  is  disobedience  to  God, 
and  therefore  puts  me  not  only  out  of  fellowship  and 
sympathy  but  in  direct  antagonism  to  him.  Thus 
he  who  continues  in  sin  makes  it  more  and  more 
difficult  to  do  or  even  to  understand  the  will  of 
God,  and  is  in  great  danger  of  coming  to  beheve 
finally  that  there  is  no  God.  And  yet  God  is  the 
power  which  creates  and  controls  the  imiverse,  and 
in  opposing  it  a  man  is  on  the  way  to  inevitable 
destruction.  God  is  the  all-loving  Father,  and  in 
turning  from  him,  one  is  turning  from  all  that  is 
good  and  loving  toward  all  that  is  base  and  evil. 

46.  Salvation  is  the  deliverance  of  a  man^s 
character  from  an  actual  or  possible  sinful  condition 
to  a  righteous  condition,  and  from  a  condition  of 
opposition  and  disobedience  to  God  to  one  of  fellow- 
ship and  trust  in  God,  and  every  means  of  bringing 
this  about  is  a  means  of  salvation. — Common  ideas 


MAN,  SIN,  AND  SALVATION  113 

of  salvation  have  been  that  it  is  deliverance  from 
the  punishment  of  sin  after  death,  and  to  a  life  of 
eternal  pleasure  and  delight.  It  has  often  been 
thought  and  taught  in  various  forms  of  Chris- 
tianity, as  well  as  other  forms  of  reUgion,  that 
there  were  certain  ways  by  which  a  sinful  man 
might,  at  any  rate  after  mortal  Hfe,  escape  the 
penalty  of  his  sins  and  live  the  life  of  happiness.  In 
Christianity  it  has  generally  bieen  held  that  this 
way  of  escape  from  punishment  was  made  possible 
by  the  death  of  Jesus.  The  deeper  thinkers  have 
realized  that  such  salvation  must  result  in  the 
change  of  the  sinful  character,  or  it  could  not 
deliver  from  the  punishment.  But  very  often  it 
was  the  punishment  which  was  the  great  thing  to 
be  saved  from,  and  in  many  cases  it  has  been 
thought  that  professing  a  creed  or  partaking  of 
sacraments  would  insure  the  salvation  of  a  man  no 
matter  how  he  continued  in  sin. 

As  spiritual  ideas  of  God  and  man  have  become 
clearer,  this  position  has  changed  in  important 
respects.  First,  the  significance  of  character  has 
been  more  clearly  recognized.  It  has  been  seen 
that  a  man's  character  determined  very  largely 
whether  he  were  happy  or  not.  A  man  who  loves 
God  and  those  about  him  will  be  happy  in  circum- 
stances in  which  a  bad  man  would  be  quite  mis- 
erable, and  a  bad  man  in  heaven  would  find  the 
presence  of  good  people  about  him  so  unpleasant 


114     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

that  he  would  not  want  to  remain — it  could  not 
be  a  place  of  happiness  for  him.  The  making  of 
the  character  right,  then,  is  the  first  necessity  in 
making  a  man  happy,  or  bringing  him  to  a  real 
heaven. 

Then  it  has  become  clear  that  if  God  love  men 
as  Jesus  loved  them,  he  would  be  ready  to  forgive 
them  and  receive  them  into  fellowship  with  him- 
self on  no  other  conditions  but  those  of  repentance 
for  sin  and  desire  for  such  fellowship,  just  as  Jesus 
received  men  on  these  conditions;  and  thus  that 
these  could  be  the  only  conditions  of  God's  favor 
and  of  salvation  so  far  as  he  is  concerned.  Repent- 
ance and  the  desire  for  forgiveness  would  be  evi- 
dence that  the  character  was  moving  in  the  right 
direction — away  from  sin  and  toward  goodness. 
And  the  faith  that  God  had  forgiven  the  man  must 
result  in  helping  him  to  be  better. 

The  great  problem  of  salvation,  then,  is  just  the 
problem  of  making  good  character.  If  a  man's 
character  is  becoming  good  he  is  being  saved;  if 
not,  he  is  being  lost,  no  matter  what  he  believes  or 
does  not  believe.  And  we  must  take  this  in  a  real 
and  Hteral  way.  There  must  be  no  religious 
quibble  by  which  a  character  that  loves  God  and 
man  shall  be  called  bad  or  depraved  because  the 
man  holds  or  fails  to  hold  some  particular  belief; 
and  no  legal  fiction  whereby  a  bad  character  shall 
be  called  good  under  any  circumstances.     There  is 


MAN,  SIN,  AND  SALVATION  115 

a  great  truth  in  the  doctrine  of  the  "imputation" 
of  Christ's  righteousness  to  those  who  accept  him, 
that  is,  who  become  his  true  followers  and  trust  in 
the  Father  whom  he  revealed.  But  that  truth  is 
not  that  a  bad  man  is  looked  upon  as  good,  but 
that  a  man  is  judged  by  God  not  according  to  what 
he  has  attained  but  by  what  he  is  striving  to 
attain.  And  the  man  who  desires  most  of  all  to 
become  Christlike,  and  strives  with  all  his  might  to 
become  so,  is  regarded  by  God  with  loving  approval, 
even  though  the  evil  habits  of  the  sinful  life  have 
not  yet  entirely  lost  their  hold  upon  him. 

The  process  of  salvation  may  be  going  on  in  a 
man  even  before  he  has  faith  in  God,  although  such 
faith  is  one  of  the  most  powerful  means  to  salva- 
tion. But  owing  to  intellectual  experience  or 
environment  a  man  may  not  have  learned  how  he 
may  believe  in  God,  and  may  think  he  cannot, 
while  at  the  same  time  his  Hfe  is  growing  better. 
In  such  cases  we  must  recognize  God's  action  just 
as  clearly  as  when  the  man  perceives  that  it  is  God 
who  is  saving  him,  and  not  deny  God's  work 
because  the  man  in  whom  he  is  working  does  not 
understand  it. 

47.  Conversion  is  a  change  from  a  general 
downward  direction  or  evil  development  of  char- 
acter to  a  general  upward  direction  or  righteous 
development  of  character. — Few,  if  any  of  us,  know 
anyone  who  has  not  some  good  in  him,  who  does 


ii6     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

not  sometimes  act  from  noble  motives,  take  a  step 
upward  in  character;  but  we  should  recognize 
clearly  the  distinction  between  the  life  of  a  man 
whose  controlling  motives  are  lower,  who  is  gradu- 
ally becoming  worse  in  character,  and  the  man  who 
is  struggling  upward,  desiring  above  all  to  become 
Christlike,  to  do  right.  The  latter  may  often 
stumble  in  the  way,  he  may  even  appear  worse  in 
character  than  the  former,  especially  if  the  one 
who  is  growing  worse  has  been  brought  up  in  good 
surroundings  so  that  certain  forms  of  goodness  have 
become  habitual  in  him.  But  the  man  who  is 
moving  in  the  right  direction  will  some  time  gain 
the  goal  sought,  although  he  start  from  a  great 
way  off;  and  the  man  whose  direction  is  wrong  is 
getting  farther  and  farther  from  the  home  of  the 
soul,  although  at  the  beginning  he  had  a  great 
advantage  over  the  other  man.  Thus  the  impor- 
tant thing  is  the  direction  of  movement.  The  word 
''conversion"  means  turning  around  or  turning 
back,  and  as  used  in  religion  it  means  the  change  in 
the  direction  of  a  man's  life  from  wrong  to  right. 

If  a  man  beHeve  in  a  righteous  God,  then  turn- 
ing toward  the  right  will  mean  for  him  turning 
toward  God  and  accepting  the  guidance  of  his 
Spirit.  If,  on  account  of  atheistic  teaching,  it  is 
for  a  time  impossible  for  him  to  believe  in  God,  he 
may  be  none  the  less  converted.  He  may  take  the 
upward  direction,  and  choose  the  higher  motives, 


MAN,  SIN,  AND  SALVATION  117 

and  until  he  is  able  to  believe  in  God,  the  highest 
motives  will  be  those  of  love  to  his  fellow-men. 
We  may  be  sure  that  God  would  be  pleased  with 
such  a  life,  and  that  it  is  God's  power  which  is 
helping  the  man  to  the  better  life,  even  though  for 
a  time  it  is  not  recognized  as  such. 

In  many  cases  it  is  impossible  to  know  cer- 
tainly whether  another  person  is  thoroughly  con- 
verted or  not.  Outward  actions  are  not  always 
clear  evidence  of  the  movement  of  character,  much 
less  professions  of  faith.  Many  a  Hfe  is  vacillating 
for  a  period  so  that  it  is  difficult  to  tell  whether 
more  is  being  gained  or  lost.  We  may  be  sure, 
however,  that  the  man  whose  highest  desire  is  for 
righteousness  will  become  righteous,  and  receive 
God's  help  in  gaining  this  desire,  although  the 
progress  may  seem  slow  for  a  time. 

48.  If  the  movement  of  character  is  in  the  right 
direction,  it  is  of  no  importance  to  know  the  time 
of  conversion  or  even  that  there  has  been  any 
conversion. — When  a  man  has  been  Hving  a  very 
sinful  life  for  a  considerable  time,  and  then  stops 
the  downward  and  commences  the  upward  move- 
ment, the  change  will  be  a  very  noticeable  one — 
he  will  have  a  "remarkable  experience"  of  conver- 
sion. There  is,  however,  no  good  reason  why  a 
child  brought  up  in  a  really  Christian  home  should 
have  any  experience  of  a  general  movement  in  the 
wrong  direction.     He  may  learn  from  those  about 


Ii8     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

him,  by  precept  and  example,  what  the  right  life  is 
and  how  much  better  it  is  than  the  wrong,  and  so 
be  always  growing  better,  moving  upward,  in 
general,  although  like  converted  persons  he  stumble 
sometimes  in  the  way.  It  is  a  great  mistake  to 
expect  of  such  that  they  shall  have  such  experi- 
ences of  conversion  as  those  do  who  have  long 
continued  in  sin. 

It  has  sometimes  been  thought  that  the  teaching 
in  John  3:3,  etc.,  is  contrary  to  the  position  taken 
above.  ''Except  a  man  be  bom  again,  he  cannot 
see  the  kingdom  of  God."  A  study  of  the  context 
shows  the  meaning  to  be  that  the  Spirit  of  God 
must  give  to  a  man  the  nature  that  loves  righteous- 
ness in  order  that  he  may  *' enter  the  kingdom  of 
God";  that  being  a  descendant  of  Abraham  or 
fulfilling  the  ceremonial  law  was  not  sufficient. 
But  the  evidence  of  the  work  of  the  Spirit,  like  that 
of  the  blowing  of  the  wind,  is  to  be  found  in  the 
results,  and  when  we  have  before  us  the  life  which 
shows  the  presence  in  it  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  there 
is  room  for  no  further  question.  When  we  have  a 
live  child  before  us,  we  need  no  birth  register  to 
prove  that  it  has  been  bom.  The  love-inspired  life 
is  the  conclusive  evidence  of  the  presence  of  God's 
Spirit,  and  in  many  cases  we  shall  not  be  able  to 
find  any  specific  time  when  the  work  of  the  Spirit 
in  that  life  clearly  began. 

As  will  be  seen  in  the  next  section,  we  cannot 


MAN,  SIN,  AND  SALVATION  119 

deny  the  universal  tendency  to  sin  in  every  human 
being.  We  know  of  no  one  except  Jesus  who  has 
grown  into  self-directing  life  without  showing  that 
the  nature  he  has  inherited  or  the  temptations 
which  surround  him  were  such  that  he  did  not 
remain  without  sin.  These  facts  have  been  the 
foundation  of  the  doctrine  of  ''original  sin."  While 
we  cannot  now  hold  the  doctrine  in  its  older  form, 
we  must  admit  the  facts,  and  the  consequent  need 
which  every  man  has  for  salvation,  for  ''grace"  to 
overcome  his  sinful  tendencies.  A  man  needs  not 
only  forgiveness  for  the  sins  he  has  committed,  and 
help  to  overcome  his  besetting  sins,  but  he  needs  to 
develop  such  a  character  as  shall  be  fully  and 
positively  righteous.  Many  a  man  has  not  com- 
mitted certain  sins  simply  because  the  temptation 
to  commit  them  has  not  been  strong  enough,  and 
not  because  he  is  really  good  in  character.  He 
may  thus  need  salvation  as  truly  as  the  one  who 
has  yielded  to  temptation. 

49.  Salvation  is  a  process  requiring  a  consider- 
able time  for  its  completion,  and  all  teaching  that 
it  may  be  completed  in  a  single  moment  is  likely 
to  lead  to  error  and  deception. — In  the  past, 
salvation  has  been  distinguished  from  "sancti- 
fication,"  which  meant  originally  making  holy,  or 
separating  unto  God,  but  is  better  understood  now 
as  meaning  the  act  or  process  of  making  righteous. 
The  highest  meaning  of  holiness  is  righteousness, 


120     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

although  the  word  has  been  used  with  very  differ- 
ent meanings  in  the  past.  When  salvation  was 
thought  of  as  deliverance  from  the  liability  to 
eternal  punishment,  then  it  was  accomphshed  by 
God's  act  of  pardon,  as  soon  as  the  sinner  had  met 
the  conditions.  And  we  may  recognize,  still,  the 
great  value  of  the  choice  of  will  by  which  a  man 
abandons  a  sinful  life,  consecrates  himself  to  God 
and  righteousness,  and  accepts  the  forgiveness  of 
God  for  his  sin.  But  we  see  now  that  the  impor- 
tance of  this  experience  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  is  the 
beginning  of  a  great  process,  and  not  the  complete 
attainment  of  the  thing  desired. 

For  us,  therefore,  salvation  and  sanctification 
mean  essentially  the  same  thing,  and  it  is  important 
that  we  recognize  that  for  any  sinful  human  being  a 
process  is  involved,  and  not  a  sudden  act  or  experi- 
ence which  is  then  complete.  The  great  philoso- 
pher Kant  held  that  it  would  take  an  infinite  time 
for  a  will  (i.e.,  character)  to  become  perfectly  good. 
At  any  rate  we  may  question  whether  characters 
do  become  perfectly  good  within  the  brief  bounds  of 
mortal  life;  and  our  experience  is  not  to  be  doubted, 
that  many  Christian  people  have  not  yet  attained 
to  perfection  at  the  close  of  human  life.  We  find 
in  general  that  the  better  a  man  becomes,  the 
more  conscious  he  is  of  moral  imperfection,  and 
the  higher  his  ideal  of  perfect  character  rises.  We 
know,  further,  from  psychology,  that  it  is  impos- 


MAN,  SIN,  AND  SALVATION  I2i 

sible  for  the  mass  of  thoughts  and  habits  which 
have  been  developed  through  many  years  to  be 
totally  changed  in  a  moment,  although  the  general 
direction  of  the  life  may  be  thus  instantly  changed. 

There  are  two  serious  dangers  in  the  teaching 
which  some  sects  have  maintained,  that  a  man  may 
be  perfectly  sanctified  in  an  instant.  The  first  is 
that  a  man  who  is  seeking  for  God's  fullest  blessing, 
and  thinks  God  will  thus  instantly  sanctify  him, 
will,  if  he  be  honest  with  himself,  be  disappointed, 
and  perhaps  abandon  his  Christian  faith  altogether 
for  a  time,  as  a  friend  of  mine  once  did,  under  such 
conditions,  thinking  that  God  would  not  give  him 
what  he  had  given  others. 

The  other  danger,  more  serious  still,  is  that  of 
self-deception  or  hypocrisy  when  a  man  claims  to 
have  been  thus  ''sanctified"  and  yet  frequently 
does  wrong.  His  actions  prove  his  words,  and 
perhaps  even  his  thought  with  regard  to  himself, 
false.  Such  a  man  often  says,  in  the  phrase  of  his 
sect,  that  it  is  not  he  who  commits  the  sin,  but  the 
''old  man"  in  him,  for  which  he  is  no  longer 
responsible,  or  else  that  what  would  in  others  be 
sin  is  not  in  him,  because  he  is  sanctified,  or  because 
he  is  "no  more  imder  law  but  under  grace"  or 
something  of  that  sort.  But  this  is  merely  to 
introduce  moral  confusion  into  his  life  in  the  place 
of  mental.  If  sin  be  what  we  have  judged  it  to  be, 
we  should  always  call  it  by  the  same  name  and  not 


122     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

try  to  make  ourselves  or  others  believe  that  we  are 
what  we  know  we  are  not.  We  must  carefully 
avoid  all  juggling  with  moral  distinctions  in  the 
name  of  ''religious  truths,"  for  it  throws  serious 
discredit  on  religion. 

50.  The   doctrine   of   "justification   by   faith' » 
means  that  we  attain  to  conscious  fellowship  with 
God  through  trust  in  his  forgiving  love  and  not 
through  any  number  of  good  deeds.— We  have  laid 
special  stress  on  the  "ethical"  side  of  salvation, 
that  is,  its  character  as  deliverance  from  sin,  be- 
cause that  is  fundamental  and  can  be  appreciated 
and  applied  by  all,  whatever  their  belief  or  lack  of 
belief  about  God.     We  need  to  give  a  little  special 
attention  to  the  religious  side,  that  is,  that  which 
concerns  our  relations  to  God,  both  to  understand 
the  doctrines  of  the  past,  and  to  get  the  value  of 
them  for  our  life  today.     Paul  experienced  the  fact 
that  ''by  the  works  of  the  law  shall  no  flesh  be 
justified  in  his  sight"   (Rom.  3:20),  and  Luther 
and  many  others  who  were  striving  to  get  rid  of  sin 
and  do  good  works  so  that  their  lives  might  be 
pleasing  to  God,  have  had  the  experience  of  despair 
of  ever  attaining  to  such  a  condition  that  they  could 
clarni  God's  approval  for  their  lives.     They  found 
at  last  that  they  must  abandon  such  attempts  to 
become  good  enough  to  please  God,  and  merely 
trust  to  God's  love  and  mercy  to  receive  them  while 
they  were  still  sinful  and  imperfect.     They  found 


MAN,  SIN,  AND  SALVATION  123 

then,  too,  that  the  confidence  that  they  received 
when  they  thus  simply  trusted  in  God's  love  and 
free,  undeserved  forgiveness  gave  them  new  hope 
and  power  to  become  really  righteous. 

These  experiences  should  be  very  instructive  for 
us.  They  should  teach  us  that,  on  the  side  of 
character,  self-satisfaction  is  deadly;  and  that  the 
only  safe  and  only  absolutely  essential  thing  is  that 
our  controlling  motive  should  be  that  of  love  to 
God  and  man,  and  our  constant  effort  to  become 
better.  They  should  teach  us  that  on  the  religious 
side  we  cannot  please  God  by  anything  less  than 
trust  in  his  love  and  free  forgiveness,  and  earnest 
desire  to  do  his  will,  and  that  ''good  works"  please 
him  only  as  the  proof  of  this  controlling  motive  of 
love,  and  the  presence  of  this  desire  to  do  his  will. 
Any  good  works  except  those  which  flow  from  such 
love  and  obedience  arise  from  lower  motives  and  are 
therefore  really  sinful.  So  we  still  are  concerned 
with  character — the  character  of  love  and  childlike 
trust  (as  opposed  to  Pharisaic  self -righteousness) 
that  pleases  God,  so  that  we  are  ''justified,"  that  is, 
approved,  in  his  sight.  It  is  our  effort  and  not  our 
attainment  that  pleases  him.  We  shall  see  in  the 
next  chapter  in  what  sense  it  is  true  that  we  are 
justified  through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  But  we 
may  say  here  that  it  is  because  through  Jesus  we 
come  to  this  trust  in  God  that  we  are  thus  justified, 
through  the  love  of  God  manifested  in  Jesus,  and 


124     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

not  through  the  acceptance  of  any  creed,  or 
particular  belief  about  the  nature  or  work  of  Jesus 
himself  except  as  it  brings  us  to  this  confidence  in 
the  love  and  forgiveness  of  God. 

51.  We  should  believe  that  all  human  beings 
are  children  of  God  until  they  have  absolutely 
renounced  his  fatherhood  by  the  destruction  of 
everything  good  in  them. — By  being  children  of 
God  we  mean  having  something  of  the  spiritual 
nature  that  God  has,  some  capability  of  responding 
to  good  motives,  the  influence  of  the  Spirit  of  God, 
and  such  relation  to  God  that  on  his  side  nothing  is 
lacking  to  make  our  fellowship  and  commimion  with 
him  of  the  highest  nature.  This  position  is  the 
higher  Christian  teaching  from  the  time  of  Jesus  to 
the  present,  but  it  differs  from  other  things  that 
have  been  taught  in  two  ways.  First,  it  has  been 
taught  that,  through  the  sin  of  our  first  parents  or 
in  some  other  way,  men  have  entirely  lost  the 
character  of  God,  totally  defaced  his  image  in  them, 
and  thus  become  ''totally  depraved"  and  "children 
of  the  Devil."  Generally  it  has  been  admitted 
that  very  few  human  beings  seemed  thus  entirely 
bad  to  themselves  or  others,  but  it  was  explained 
that  whatever  good  appeared  in  them  was  the 
action  of  God's  Spirit,  while  the  evil  in  them  was 
their  own  true  nature.  Of  course  this  is  not  a  fair 
way  to  judge  anyone.  If  we  hold  a  man  respon- 
sible for  the  evil  that  is  in  him,  we  must  give  him 


MAN,  SIN,  AND  SALVATION  125 

credit  for  the  good  too.  We  may  well  say  that  all 
the  good  in  man  is  due  to  the  presence  in  him  of 
God's  Spirit;  but  that  is  properly  only  another  way 
of  saying  that  he  has  retained  something  of  the 
image  of  God  in  him,  or  is  still  a  child  of  God, 
although  a  fallen  one.  The  term  ^^regeneration," 
which  means  rebirth,  is  a  figurative  expression 
denoting  the  action  on  God's  part  which  cor- 
responds to  man's  repentance  and  conversion. 
Both  expressions  refer  to  the  changing  of  the 
direction  of  a  man's  life,  and  the  meaning  of  both 
is  fulfilled  when  the  life  is  developing  in  the  right 
way.  But  as  a  deaf  man  cannot  hear,  and  a  blind 
man  cannot  see,  so  a  *' totally  depraved"  man,  one 
in  whom  was  nothing  good,  no  higher  motives,  no 
desire  for  righteousness,  could  not  respond  to  the 
influence  of  God's  Spirit,  and  so  conversion  or 
regeneration  would  be  impossible. 

The  second  teaching  differing  from  our  position 
is  that  God  could  not  love  a  man,  on  account  of  his 
sin,  until  something  had  been  done  by  Jesus  to 
make  such  love  possible,  and  the  man  had  accepted 
this  work  of  Jesus  as  done  for  him.  But  the  true 
teaching  of  Jesus  and  the  New  Testament  is  that  it 
is  the  very  love  of  God  which  is  revealed  in  Jesus, 
and  that  God  loves  every  man  whom  he  has  made 
and  desires  the  salvation  of  all.  We  know  not 
whether  anyone  ever  becomes  so  bad  as  completely 
to  destroy  his  divine  sonship,  and  bum  out  every- 


126     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

thing  good  that  is  in  him,  but  we  should  believe 
that  if  anyone  desires  God's  love  and  forgiveness  it 
is  because  he  is  God's  child,  and  God  will  never 
cast  him  out,  and  we  should  never  abandon  anyone 
as  hopeless.  It  is  not  sonship  to  God,  that  we  are 
to  seek,  but  the  ''spirit  of  sonship,"  the  spirit  of 
trust  and  obedience  that  should  be  in  the  life  of 
every  child  of  God,  that  is  in  every  man  whom 
God  has  made. 

52.  All  sin  is  punished,  but  the  purpose  of  the 
punishment  is  not  to  "give  a  man  what  he  deserves" 
but  to  prevent  sin  and  reform  the  sinner. — We  all 
recognize  that  it  is  right  for  those  who  have  con- 
sciously and  intentionally  done  wrong  to  suffer  for 
their  wrongdoing,  but  we  can  imagine  no  just  way 
of  apportioning  to  a  man  the  punishment  which  he 
deserves.  For  what  a  man  deserves  must  depend 
on  the  circumstances  under  which  the  wrong  was 
done,  the  motives  of  the  deed  and  the  strength  of 
the  temptation.  But  no  one  can  know  the  inner 
working  of  another's  mind,  the  strength  of  his 
passions,  the  reasons  for  his  ignorance  or  prejudice; 
and  thus  no  man  can  rightly  decide  what  the 
punishment  ought  to  be  in  a  given  case.  This 
becomes  still  clearer  when  we  remember  that  a 
given  penalty  may  be  a  heavy  punishment  for  one 
man  and  none  at  all  for  another.  For  one  man 
death  is  the  most  severe  possible  penalty.  Another 
may  desire  to  die.     So  in  the  case  of  himian  justice, 


MAN,  SIN,  AND  SALVATION  127 

the  only  right  way  to  do  is  to  try  to  make  the 
punishment  of  such  a  form  and  degree  as  to 
protect  society  in  the  best  way  and  to  reform  the 
criminal  if  possible,  so  that  he  will  become  a  useful 
member  of  society.  Any  penal  system  different 
from  this  is  a  relic  of  barbarism. 

We  may  believe  that  God  knows  just  what 
punishment  a  man  deserves  in  any  given  case,  and 
we  see  that  to  a  certain  extent,  at  any  rate,  the 
punishment  for  sin  is  automatically  adjusted  to  the 
sin.     The  worst  result  of  sinning  is  the  degradation 
of  character  and  the  estrangement  from  God  and 
good    people,    and    these    results    must    depend 
directly  on  the  nature  and  strength  of  the  evil 
motive.     But  even  in  the  case  of  God,  or  perhaps 
we  should  say,  especially  in  the  case  of  God,  it  is 
better  to  believe  that  the  only  purpose  of  punish- 
ment is  the  prevention  of  sin  and  reformation  of 
the  sinner.    This  is  all  that  anyone  can  rightfully 
require  from  either  human  or  divine  justice.     We 
want  the  penalty  to  counterbalance  the  motives  to 
the  crime,  so  that  a  man  will  see  that  he  cannot 
gain  by  crime,  but  will  always  lose.     So  we  should 
believe  that  God  punishes  sin  because  of  his  love 
for  all  men,  the  sinner  as  well  as  those  sinned 
against. 

It  is  clear,  then,  that  it  will  best  deter  from  sin 
if  the  punishment  follows  it  inevitably,  but  best 
encourage   repentance   and   improvement    if    the 


128     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  IMEN  OF  TODAY 

forgiveness  and  cessation  of  pimisHment  follow 
immediately  upon  repentance.  This  we  may  and 
should  believe.  The  worst  results  of  sinning,  the 
decay  of  character  and  the  estrangement  from  God, 
cease  when  we  turn  from  sin  and  trust  in  God's 
forgiveness. 

53.  The  results  of  sin  which  continue  after 
repentance  should  be  looked  upon  no  longer  as 
punishment  but  as  means  of  discipline  and  the 
development  of  character,  as  blessings  and  not  as 
evil. — On  account  of  God's  love  we  should  expect 
forgiveness  to  follow  immediately  upon  repentance, 
and  we  cannot  think  of  punishment  as  continuing 
after  one  has  been  pardoned.    But  we  see  that  the 
results  of  sin  in  suffering  and  loss  often  continue 
long  after  the  sin  has  been  repented  of  and  has 
ceased.    We  can  see  also  that  these  results  may  be 
of  great  value  to  the  sinner  as  well  as  to  others  in 
deterring  from  sin  and  showing  its  awful  nature, 
and  that  if  taken  in  the  right  spirit  they  may  prove 
of  great  value  in  the  strengthening  and  purifying  of 
character,    developing    patience,    sympathy,    and 
other  virtues.     Thus  we  should  regard  the  after- 
results  of  sin,  when  it  has  been  forgiven,  as  intended 
only  for  good,  and  no  longer  as  punishment.     The 
problem  of  evil  other  than  sin  has  been  more  fully 
considered  in  section  38. 

From  the  foregoing  sections  it  should  be  clear 
that  faith  is  necessary  to  salvation  only  in  so  far  as 


MAN,  SIN,  AND  SALVATION  129 

it  keeps  a  man's  character  developmg  rightly,  or 
helps  him  to  righteousness.  Without  faith  of  some 
sort,  at  least  in  the  value  of  righteousness  in  some 
of  its  expressions,  no  man  can  or  will  be  or  become 
righteous.  The  value  of  Christian  faith  is  not  that 
no  man  can  be  saved  without  it  in  all  of  its  details, 
but  that  it  is  the  quickest  way  to  righteousness  and 
to  God.  If  a  man  truly  and  constantly  holds  it  he 
is  certain  to  be  becoming  steadily  better,  and  this 
in  a  greater  degree  and  shorter  time  than  would  be 
possible  without  it. 

In  the  next  chapter  we  consider  some  of  the 
most  important  ways  in  which  the  life  and  work  of 
Jesus  may  help  to  this  highest  faith  and  fullest  life. 


CHAPTER  VI 

WHAT  SHALL  WE  BELIEVE  ABOUT  JESUS  ? 

"But  all  things  are  of  God,  who  reconciled  us  to  himself 
through  Christ  and  gave  unto  us  the  ministry  of  reconcilia- 
tion; to  wit,  that  God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world 
unto  himself." — II  Cor.  5:18,  19a. 

54.  No  belief  with  regard  to  Jesus  is  of  any 
value  except  as  it  helps  a  man  to  a  better  character 
or  fuller  life. — This  must  be  true  if  God  is  righteous 
and  loving,  and  has  the  spirit  which  was  shown 
in  Jesus.  Many  people  have  thought  that  God 
has  revealed  to  men  certain  truths  about  Jesus,  or 
about  himself,  through  Jesus,  and  that  he  would 
refuse  to  forgive  and  save  any  man,  no  matter  how 
much  he  loved  God  and  men,  unless  he  believed  this 
revelation ;  and  some  have  thought  that  if  a  man 
should  believe  this  revealed  truth  about  Jesus,  he 
might  be  saved,  as  a  reward  for  believing  it,  or  from 
a  sort  of  a  magical  efficacy  obtained  through  believ- 
ing it,  no  matter  how  wicked  he  might  be  and  re- 
main. The  true  position  is  that  God  has  revealed 
great  truths  about  himself  and  human  Hfe  through 
Jesus,  which,  if  a  man  believe,  will  be  of  the  greatest 
assistance  to  him  in  becoming  righteous  and  in  ob- 
taining the  highest  faith  in  God;  and  the  true  faith 
in  Jesus  is  thus  the  greatest  power  for  the  salvation 
or  transformation  of  life  and  character. 
130 


WHAT  SHALL  WE  BELIEVE  ABOUT  JESUS  ?     131 

We  may  be  sure  that  a  righteous,  loving  God 
could  require  of  no  man  any  belief  as  a  condition 
of  his  favor,  except  such  as  would  be  possible  for  the 
man  under  his  pecuHar  circumstances  to  accept, 
and  such  as  would  be  accepted  by  the  man  if  he 
were  trying  to  find  out  the  truth  and  choose  the 
right.  God  would  not  reward  us  with  forgiveness 
or  salvation  or  heaven  or  anything  else  good 
because  we  did  what  we  could  not  help  doing. 
Such  action  deserves  no  reward.  It  is  when  we 
choose  to  do  the  better  of  two  or  more  things  that 
we  have  shown  ourselves  worthy  of  approval  and 
reward.  There  are  various  things  about  the  life 
of  Jesus  which  a  man  would  be  compelled  to  believe 
if  the  proper  evidence  were  presented  to  him,  and 
which  he  could  not  possibly  beHeve  unless  they  were 
at  least  told  him  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  him 
think  they  were  true.  In  such  cases,  although  the 
facts  accepted  or  rejected  might  be  of  value  to  the 
man,  we  could  not  think  of  God  as  rewarding  or 
punishing  the  man,  since  he  had  no  choice  in  the 
matter.  But  where  there  is  a  choice,  the  only 
thing  which  makes  one  belief  better  than  another 
is  that  the  one  will  improve  the  life  and  character 
of  the  man  more  than  the  other.  This  we  have 
seen  in  the  discussion  about  faith  and  knowledge, 
in  the  first  chapter.  Therefore  it  is  clear  that  it  is 
only  such  belief  as  a  man  would  choose  because 
of  its  value  in  making  his  life  richer  or  his  char- 


132     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

acter  better  which  could  please  God  or  be  of  any 
value  to  men. 

55.  We  should  beUeve  that  Jesus  was  a  real 
man;  that  is,  that  he  was  limited  in  power  and 
knowledge  in  the  same  way  that  other  men  are.— 
We  shall  consider  in  later  sections  the  reasons  why 
it  is  of  great  importance  to  believe  in  the  true 
humanity  of  Jesus.  Practically  all  great  theo- 
logians, from  the  earliest  times  to  the  present, 
have  recognized  the  importance  of  this  belief. 
We  have  here  to  consider  what  is  meant  by  being 
a  man.  We  have  already  considered  what  human 
nature  is  in  section  41.  It  includes  such  relation 
of  the  spirit  to  the  body  that  the  former  is  largely 
dependent  on  and  limited  by  the  latter.  All  the 
data  for  the  knowledge  and  thought  of  the  mind 
come  through  the  body  and  its  senses.  Even  our 
highest  and  most  spiritual  faith  must  be  repre- 
sented and  pictured  in  terms  gained  first  from 
the  world  of  sense.  While  it  is  true  that  there 
are  some  phenomena  as  those  of  telepathy, 
mind-reading,  clairvoyance,  etc.,  which  in  some 
cases  we  cannot  doubt  to  be  genuine,  and  in 
which  there  is  apparently  some  communica- 
tion of  thought  without  the  medium  of  the 
senses,  even  in  such  instances  there  can  be  no 
confirmation  of  the  truth  of  the  impressions  thus 
communicated,  without  the  senses,  and  the  sphere 
of  such  communication  is   comparatively  small, 


WHAT  SHALL  WE  BELIEVE  ABOUT  JESUS  ?     133 

and  entirely  out  of  the  control  of  the  ordinary 
healthy  person. 

It  is  clear,  then,  that  the  knowledge  of  any 
human  bemg  is  and  must  be  very  limited  indeed, 
compared  with  all  that  might  be  known.  And 
it  is  further  to  be  most  carefully  considered  that 
such  limitation  in  knowledge  is  one  of  the  essential 
conditions  of  our  moral  experience  and  develop- 
ment. If  every  man  knew  that  every  sin  would 
be  punished,  and  could  foresee  the  results,  no  one 
would  want  to  sin.  It  is  because  we  cannot  know 
beyond  a  doubt,  that  righteousness  will  always 
bring  good,  and  sin  always  evil,  that  sin  is  so  tempt- 
ing and  virtue  so  difficult,  and  that  a  man  has  a 
duty  to  choose  the  best  faith  when  he  might  choose 
something  else.  We  have  no  moral  obligation 
to  do  the  things  we  cannot  help  doing.  The  moral 
obligation,  the  duty,  commences  when  there  is  a 
choice  between  different  possibilities.  There  is 
much  truth  in  the  saying  of  Socrates  that  ''sin  is 
ignorance,"  for  although  we  knowingly  sin,  we 
never  knowingly  injure  ourselves,  and  if  we  knew 
that  every  sin  injured  us  far  more  than  it  benefited 
us,  we  should  not  sin.  As  most  if  not  all  human 
beings,  then,  are  so  limited  in  knowledge  that  they 
cannot  know  certainly  what  the  results  of  their 
actions  will  be,  and  cannot  know  beyond  doubt  the 
existence  of  God  and  of  a  life  beyond  the  grave,  and 
the  truth  of  the  other  most  important  doctrines 


134     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

of  religion,  so  we  must  hold  that  Jesus,  if  he  was 
a  real  human  being,  was  limited  in  the  same  way, 
and  that  religious  truth  was  faith  for  him  as  well 
as  for  us.  Having  a  human  body  would  not  make 
him  a  man  in  any  true  sense  if  he  did  not  have  the 
other  limitations  which  human  beings  have.  If 
he  was  tempted  in  the  same  way  that  we  are,  and 
developed  character  in  the  same  way  that  we  do; 
if  he  by  being  human  himself  could  enter  into 
complete  sympathy  with  human  bemgs,  and  could 
become  in  any  way  a  real  example  for  our  lives, 
then  he  must  have  been  limited  as  we  are. 

What  has  been  said  above  has  been  concerned 
primarily  with  limitation  in  knowledge.  The 
same  general  arguments  apply  also  to  limitations 
in  power.  If  Jesus  could  have  done  anything  he 
wished  to  do,  then  he  was  different  from  any  other 
human  being  who  ever  lived;  or,  in  other  words, 
he  was  not  truly  human.  We  may  see,  on  the 
one  hand,  that  limitation  in  knowledge  would 
necessarily  imply  limitation  in  power;  and  on  the 
other,  that  if  he  had  had  actual  superhuman 
powers,  i.e.,  powers  which  no  other  human  being 
could  control  or  use  in  any  way,  whether  in  answer 
to  prayer  or  otherwise,  then  he  could  not  com- 
pletely sympathize  with  men  who  were  thus  lim- 
ited, nor  be  tempted  as  they  were.  It  will  readily 
be  seen  that  much  of  our  temptation  and  sin  is 
directly   related   to   our   weakness   and   inabihty 


WHAT  SHALL  WE  BELIEVE  ABOUT  JESUS  ?     135 

to  control  events  as  we  should  like  to  do.  For 
instance,  in  modem  times  a  large  part  of  the 
temptation  and  sin  which  belong  to  men  is  related 
to  the  effort  to  make  money,  i.e.,  to  obtain  the 
"good  things"  necessary  or  desirable  for  life,  which 
can  be  obtained  only  through  gift,  hard  work, 
or  dishonest  means.  But  if  we  had  power  to 
obtain  any  of  these  things,  or  all  of  them,  without 
work,  these  temptations  would  disappear,  and 
if  Jesus  could  have  obtained  all  that  he  wished  of 
food,  clothes,  money,  etc.,  he  would  have  had  no 
such  temptations  as  those  which  form  a  most 
serious  part  of  ours,  and  give  rise  in  one  way  or 
another  to  by  far  the  larger  part  of  the  social 
evils  which  we  know. 

We  should  note  that  the  limitations  imder  which 
Jesus  lived,  although  of  the  same  kinds,  were  not 
therefore  necessarily  those  of  the  average  man, 
nor  even  those  of  the  best,  wisest,  or  most  skilful 
man  that  we  may  know  of.  They  were  the 
limitations  which  are  implied  in  human  nature,  but 
what  the  final  bounds  of  human  knowledge  and 
power  are,  when  it  shall  have  made  the  fullest 
possible  discoveries  of  the  laws  of  matter  and 
mind,  and  when  it  shall  have  come  into  complete 
harmony  with  God,  we  have  not  yet  the  faintest 
knowledge.  Jesus  may  have  had  powers  which 
no  other  human  being  has  yet  attained,  because  of 
his  perfect  harmony  with  God  and  man,  and  still 


136     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

have  been  subject  to  the  human  limitations  of 
knowledge  and  power. 

56.  We  should  believe  that  an  ideal,  sinless 
human  being  would  be  the  most  perfect  possible 
revelation  of  God's  nature  and  character  which 
man  could  receive. — We  can  understand  the 
nature  and  character  of  other  beings  only  in  so 
far  as  we  have  similar  natures  and  characters. 
Several  centuries  before  Christ,  Xenophanes,  the 
Greek  philosopher,  asked:  ''By  what  right  do  we 
attribute  human  form  to  the  gods?  Everyone," 
he  said,  ''imagines  them  to  be  like  himself. 
Negroes  think  of  the  gods  as  black  and  flat-nosed; 
Thracians,  as  blue-eyed  and  red-haired,  and  if  the 
horses  and  oxen  could  paint,  doubtless  they  would 
represent  the  gods  as  horses  and  oxen."  With  these 
words  Xenophanes  thought  to  show  the  absurdity 
of  what  is  known  as  "anthropomorphism,"  that 
is,  thinking  of  the  gods  as  being  like  men.  But 
although  he  was  to  a  certain  extent  right,  that 
is,  in  holding  that  we  should  not  think  of  God 
as  being  like  ourselves  in  all  respects,  in  outward 
appearance,  in  sensuous  needs  and  passions — yet 
he  was  wrong  in  thinking  that  we  can  truly 
worship  or  even  imagine  a  god  who  is  totally 
unlike  ourselves,  and  indeed  we  must  say  that  our 
idea  of  God  must  be  limited  to  the  ideas  which 
come  from  our  knowledge  of  ourselves  and  of  the 
world  about  us.     We  should  not  say  that  we  can 


WHAT  SHALL  WE  BELIEVE  ABOUT  JESUS  ?     137 

thus  form  adequate  and  satisfactory  conceptions 
of  God,  and  we  fmd  it  necessary  to  hold  that 
our  highest  thought  of  God  represents  only  a 
small  part  of  his  real  nature,  character,  and  power. 
Nevertheless,  our  ability  to  form  any  conception 
of  God  at  all,  depends  on  our  own  experience,  and 
we  must  use  the  forms  of  our  own  experience  to 
construct  an  idea  of  God  for  ourselves.  As  a 
man  who  has  been  blind  from  birth  can  form  no 
idea  of  what  it  means  to  see,  and  a  man  who  has 
never  heard  does  not  know  what  sound  means, 
so  we  cannot  imagine  any  particular  powers  in 
God,  of  which  we  have  no  experience,  although  we 
may  well  imagine  that  he  has  many  powers  of 
which  we  can  form  no  definite  conception  because 
we  do  not  possess  them. 

If  we  are  to  have  a  faith  in  God  which  will 
make  us  love  him,  and  which  will  help  us  to  love 
one  another,  to  become  righteous,  then  the  most 
important  element  in  our  faith  in  God  must  be  the 
thought  that  he  is  of  a  loving,  altogether  admirable, 
and  attractive  character,  and  that  the  closest 
harmony  and  fellowship  with  him  would  make 
us  most  nearly  what  we  should  be  in  relation  to  our 
fellow-men.  The  thought  of  God's  knowledge  and 
power  as  universal  and  complete  is  the  thought 
which  will  most  readily  be  developed  in  men's 
minds,  and  which  the  study  of  the  great  religions 
of  the  world  will  show  has  developed  most  quickly 


138     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

and  easily.  The  experience  which  each  man  has 
of  some  knowledge  and  power  in  himself,  and  his 
feeling  of  dependence  upon  the  forces  at  work  in 
the  world  about  him,  lead  naturally  to  the  thought 
of  a  great  and  powerful  mind  which  controls  these 
forces.  But  among  men  we  find  both  power  and 
knowledge  possessed  by  characters  of  different 
sorts,  tyrants,  bullies,  criminals,  grafters,  philan- 
thropists, statesmen,  etc.,  and  so  they  are  not 
necessarily  associated  with  any  one  kind  of  char- 
acter. It  is  therefore  more  of  a  question  what 
sort  of  character  man  will  think  of  as  belonging  to 
God. 

Every  man  has,  unless  he  destroy  them,  the 
powers  of  reason  and  conscience,  enabling  him 
to  judge  the  kind  of  motives  and  the  kind  of  char- 
acter which  have  the  highest  value.  When  men 
have  developed  the  idea  that  God  is  morally  good — 
an  idea  which  is  found  wherever  we  have  a  real 
civilization — then  it  is  most  natural  for  them  to 
attribute  to  God  the  best  moral  character  of  which 
they  conceive.  But  men  know  moral  character 
from  their  own  experience  of  their  own  characters 
and  of  those  of  other  men,  and  the  highest  char- 
acter which  they  come  to  know  will  naturally 
determine  in  large  measure  their  ideals  of  the  best 
possible  character.  If  a  man  should  appear  whose 
character  was  actually  ideal,  that  is,  whose  life 
was  determined  by  the  highest  conceivable  motives. 


WHAT  SHALL  WE  BELIEVE  ABOUT  JESUS  ?     139 

then  such  a  man  would  show  the  character  which 
it  would  be  most  proper  to  attribute  to  God;  and 
unless  men  had  already  had  as  high  an  ideal  of 
the  character  of  God  as  his  life  presented,  it  would 
be  likely  to  fix  that  ideal  for  the  future.  And 
if  God  be  the  greatest  and  best  conceivable  being, 
then  such  a  man  would  be  the  most  perfect  revela- 
tion of  the  nature  or  character  of  God  which  it 
would  be  possible  for  men  to  have.  We  have  seen 
(cf.  especially  sections  30  and  31)  that  the  best 
faith  requires  us  to  believe  that  God  has  the  best 
possible  moral  character,  or  the  character  of  the 
best  conceivable  man,  and  as  our  highest  ideal 
of  the  character  of  God  must  be  based  on  our  high- 
est experience  of  human  character,  we  must  con- 
clude that  the  best  human  character  which  exists 
would  be  the  best  actual  presentation  of  the  char- 
acter of  God  in  human  form,  and  that  if  such  an 
actual  human  character  were  in  reality  a  sinless 
character,  one  completely  determined  by  the 
highest  faith  in  God  and  deepest  love  for  man,  we 
should  be  able  to  say  that  it  was  the  most  complete 
revelation  of  God's  nature  or  character  which 
could  be  made. 

57.  It  is  reasonable  to  believe  that  the  sketch  of 
the  life  of  Jesus  given  in  the  Gospels  is,  in  its  main 
features,  historically  true. — Questions  as  to  the 
origin,  authorship,  date,  and  degree  of  historical 
accuracy  of  the  four  gospels  have  required  many 


I40     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

volumes  for  their  discussion  and  engaged  the  most 
careful  and  thorough  investigation  of  some  of  the 
greatest  scholars  of  the  last  century,  and  the 
problems  are  by  no  means  all  solved  or  settled. 
We  cannot  here  present  any  of  the  details  of  the 
problems  or  their  attempted  solutions,  but  give 
what  we  believe  to  be  the  general  results  of  the 
best  scholarship.  Some  scholars  have  gone  so  far 
as  to  assert  that  there  is  practically  no  historical 
element  in  our  Gospels  whatever.  We  believe, 
however,  that  their  arguments  are  very  unsatis- 
factory and  have  been  sufficiently  answ^ered  by 
clearer  and  more  scientific  thinkers  than  they  are. 
The  evidence  is  good  that  the  Gospels  give  us 
accounts  of  the  words  and  acts  of  a  real  man, 
called  Jesus,  based  on  the  memories  of  the  dis- 
ciples who  were  present  with  Jesus  and  heard  his 
words  and  saw  his  deeds.  There  can  be  no  reason- 
able doubt  that  some  errors  have  crept  into  the 
accounts  of  Jesus'  life  as  we  have  it,  and  that  we 
should  certainly  expect  under  the  circumstances. 
There  seems  no  likelihood  that  any  written  record 
of  Jesus'  words  and  actions  was  made  during  his 
earthly  life,  or  for  some  few  years  after  it,  and  we 
all  know  how  certain  it  is  that  words  repeated  and 
events  narrated  from  memory  of  what  happened 
some  years  before,  will  be  inaccurate  in  details,  and 
will  be  colored  by  the  thoughts  and  experiences  of 
the  narrator  quite  unintentionally.     We  note  also 


WHAT  SHALL  WE  BELIEVE  ABOUT  JESUS  ?     141 

that  no  claim  is  made  in  the  Gospels  to  any  unusual 
accuracy  in  the  narratives,  and  we  find  indisputable 
evidence  that  for  the  first  three  gospels  some  com- 
mon written  or  verbal  source  was  largely  used, 
so  that  in  general  they  do  not  represent  three  inde- 
pendent accounts,  but  one  primary  account  to 
which  additions  were  made  and  in  which  changes 
were  made  in  arrangement,  etc.,  by  three  or  more 
diflierent  authors  or  editors. 

After  these  elements  have  been  taken  into  con- 
sideration, we  find  that  we  have  in  the  Gospels  by 
no  means  a  carefully  arranged  and  fairly  complete 
biography,  but  at  least  a  number  of  pictures  or 
sketches  giving  impressions  which  were  made  by 
the  life  and  words  of  Jesus  upon  those  among 
whom  he  lived.  The  accounts  indicate  that  he 
taught  to  others  the  faith  which  he  himself  had, 
in  a  loving,  righteous,  heavenly  Father  of  all  men, 
who  was  ready  to  forgive  and  receive  even  the  most 
sinful  who  repented  of  his  sin  and  desired  forgive- 
ness and  the  righteous  life.  Jesus  himself  showed 
the  same  loving  spirit  which  he  taught  belonged  to 
God,  and  showed  no  evidence  that  he  was  conscious 
of  being  sinful  himself,  while  he  was  the  sternest 
judge  of  sin  wherever  he  found  it.  He  also  did 
many  wonderful  works,  certainly  of  healing,  and 
perhaps  of  other  kinds.  He  was  conscious  of  hav- 
ing a  close  relation  to  the  God  of  whom  he  taught, 
and  of  having  a  special  work  to  do  by  the  power 


142     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

and  Spirit  of  God  for  men.  His  love  for  God 
and  for  men  was  so  great  that  he  did  things  which 
he  knew  would  bring  him  into  serious  conflict  with 
the  Jewish  authorities,  and  be  the  means  of  his 
being  put  to  death  at  their  demands.  In  some  way, 
after  his  death  he  convinced  his  disciples  that  he 
was  still  living.  And,  as  we  see  in  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles  and  the  rest  of  the  New  Testament, 
with  this  assurance  that  his  work  had  after  all  been 
successful  in  the  highest  degree  (instead  of  being, 
as  at  his  death  it  seemed,  an  utter  failure)  and  that 
through  him  they  came  into  communion  and  fel- 
lowship with  God  himself,  the  disciples  preached 
the  new  truths  which  had  come  to  them,  and 
helped  others  to  have  the  same  new  experiences 
of  communion  with  God  which  they  had,  and 
gradually  established  the  Christian  church,  al- 
though they  regarded  it  at  first  as  only  the  highest 
and  true  form  of  the  Jewish  religion  and  not  as 
something  essentially  new,  different,  or  opposed 
in  any  way  to  it.  We  believe  that  the  best  schol- 
ars of  the  world,  both  "conservative"  and  "radi- 
cal," would  agree  that  we  have  good  reasons  to 
believe  that  the  events  roughly  described  above 
really  occurred.  We  believe  also  that  in  this 
brief  description  of  the  historical  facts  narrated 
in  the  Gospels  we  have  the  essential  elements  which 
we  need  for  the  best  possible  conception  of  the 
value  of  the  life  and  work  of  Jesus. 


WHAT  SHALL  WE  BELIEVE  ABOUT  JESUS  ?     143 

58.  It  is  reasonable  and  helpful  to  believe  that 
Jesus  was  in  character  sinless — completely  right- 
eous— moved  by  the  highest  motives,  and  therefore 
the  most  perfect  possible  revelation  of  God  to  men. 
— The  reasonableness  of  believing  that  Jesus  was 
sinless  has  already  been  pointed  out.  If  the  New 
Testament  records  are  trustworthy,  then  Jesus 
not  only  made  upon  his  disciples  the  impression 
of  living  a  life  completely  determined  by  righteous 
principles,  particularly  the  highest  love  for  God 
and  men,  but  also,  although  having  a  most  sensi- 
tive moral  nature  and  most  accurate  moral  judg- 
ment, was  conscious  of  no  sin  in  himself  to  be 
repented  of  or  removed.  Some  students  have 
found  fault  with  some  of  his  words  and  actions, 
and  thought  that  they  indicated  some  moral 
weakness  or  error.  Without  taking  up  the  points 
raised  in  detail,  we  must  notice  that  we  cannot 
judge  accurately  of  the  motives  behind  particular 
acts,  and  that  the  only  valid  question  with  regard 
to  the  acts  criticized  is  not.  Were  they  such  as  we 
could  do  with  the  highest  motives,  or  such  as  did 
in  fact  result  in  the  best  possible  way  ?  but.  Were 
the  motives  of  Jesus  the  highest,  when  he  did  the 
acts  in  question?  We  must  answer  that  no  low 
motives  are  assignable  for  these  cases,  and  that 
the  general  character  of  the  work  of  Jesus  and  the 
apparent  fact  that  he  was  conscious  of  no  sin  are 
very  strong  evidence  that  he  was  without  sin. 


144     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

If  we  have  good  reason  to  believe  that  Jesus 
thus  had  a  thoroughly  righteous  character,  and 
that  this  character  was  bound  up  with,  and  largely 
explained  by,  his  unfailing  faith  in  God  and  unique 
consciousness  that  his  words  and  works  were  in  a 
special  way  God's,  that  he  had  a  peculiar  mission 
to  reveal  God  to  men,  then  we  have  very  good 
reason  to  believe  that  Jesus  was  such  a  revelation 
of  the  character  of  God — the  most  perfect  possible 
revelation  to  men,  which  we  have  seen  (section  56) 
a  sinless  human  life  would  be.     Such  a  faith  would 
have  two  special  values:    first,  it  would  indicate 
that  God  intentionally  revealed  himself  to  men,  in 
this  most  perfect  conceivable  way,  and  would  thus 
help  us  to  believe  in  the  personal  nature  of  God 
and  his  warm  and  direct  interest  in  humanity  and 
desire  that  all  men  should  come  to  know  him ;  and 
secondly,  it  would  be  a  special  reason  why  we 
should  think  that  the  outstanding  moral  features 
of  the  life  and  teaching  of  Jesus  must  be  a  revela- 
tion   of    the   most    significant    elements    in    the 
character  of  God  himself,  and  thus  give  an  added 
weight    to    them,    whatever    they   might    be,    as 
divine   attributes.     We  should    be  compelled    to 
say    that    God    could  not   be   less   admirable  in 
character  than  Jesus,  and  that  whatever  we  found 
in  the  character  of  Jesus  which  was  most  helpful 
and  attractive  should  be  attributed  to  God,  his 
Father  and  ours. 


WHAT  SHALL  WE  BELIEVE  ABOUT  JESUS  ?     145 

59.  In  the  life  and  death  of  Jesus  we  have  the 
strongest  possible  evidence  and  most  remarkable 
manifestation  of  the  character  of  God  as  hating  sin, 
but  loving  all  men  and  desiring  to  forgive  and 
cleanse  them  from  their  sins,  of  his  suffering  on 
account  of  the  sinfulness  of  men  and  for  the  sake 
of  saving  them  from  their  sin,  and  being  ready 
to  do  anything,  to  make  the  greatest  possible 
sacrifice  for  their  salvation. — If,  as  we  have  seen 
there  is  good  reason  to  believe,  the  Gospels  give 
us  any  adequate  idea  of  the  character  and  life  of 
Jesus,  then  we  must  maintain  the  truth  of  this 
proposition  even  apart  from  the  question  of  the 
absolute  sinlessness  and  unique  consciousness  of 
Jesus,  although  if  these  things  be  admitted,  the 
argument  may  appear  much  stronger.  As  we  have 
shown,  the  best  human  character  must  be  the 
one  most  like  the  character  of  God,  of  which  we  can 
know.  Any  noble  man,  then,  shows  the  divine 
character  to  the  extent  that  he  is  noble.  It  is 
hardly  questioned  that  the  character  described  in 
the  Gospels  and  commonly  attributed  to  Jesus 
is  the  highest  which  human  history  presents.  We 
need  only  to  consider  it,  then,  with  a  little  care  to 
find  that  the  striking  elements  in  it  are  those  which 
we  consider  here. 

The  awfulness  of  sin  is  seen  not  only  in  the 
preaching  of  Jesus,  but  also  by  contrast  with  his 
own  righteous  and  loving  life.     It  stands  out  in 


146     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

peculiar  horror  as  we  see  that  it  was  the  sinfulness 
of   the   people   among   whom   he   labored   which 
caused  his  suffering  and  death — the  jealousy  and 
envy  of  the  priests  and  rulers,  and  the  anger  and 
hatred  of  those  whose  sins  were  condemned  and 
whose  hypocrisy  was  exposed.     It  is  clear,  how- 
ever inevitable  his  death  may  have  been  under  the 
circumstances,  that  he  made  no  effort  to  avoid  it, 
but  rather,  in  a  sense,  courted  it  by  the  bold  con- 
tinuance of  his  work  when  he  knew  the  danger 
that  threatened  him.     He  thus,  so  far  as  he  was 
concerned,    voluntarily   submitted   to  the  hatred 
and  anger  of  the  people,  that  they  might  see  the 
more  clearly  the  awfulness  of  their  sin  and  the 
depth  of  his  love.     In  his  death,  then,  the  horror 
of  sin  and  the  power  of  love  and  righteousness 
stand  out  in  the  strongest  possible  contrast.     The 
spirit  of  forgiveness  which  he  showed  all  through 
his  ministry  has  a  splended  manifestation  in  the 
familiar  words:    *' Father,  forgive  them,  for  they 
know  not  what  they  do,"  uttered  as  he  was  being 
crucified.     His  preaching — ''Love  your  enemies " — 
and  his  acts  show  the  love  that  included  every 
human  being  in  its  scope. 

This  character,  then,  unsurpassed  in  history, 
must  be  believed  to  belong  to  God,  whom  we  cannot 
think  to  be  excelled  in  power  or  goodness  by  any 
man  whom  he  has  made — least  of  all,  then,  by 
one  who  is  m  constant  communion  and  fellowship 


WHAT  SHALL  WE  BELIEVE  ABOUT  JESUS  ?     147 

with  him,  and  finds  in  him  the  source  of  all  his 
life  and  power.  When  one  begins  to  realize  that 
God  himself  has  this  character,  the  strongest 
force  has  come  into  operation  for  the  reconciling 
of  man  unto  God,  the  strongest  motives  are  aroused 
for  turning  from  sin  to  God,  and  Hving  in  the  power 
of  the  Spirit  of  love,  which  is  the  Spirit  of  God 
himself.  This  revelation  of  God  in  the  life  and 
death  of  Jesus  is  thus  the  greatest  element  in  the 
atonement,  or  the  bringing  of  man  into  harmony 
with  God. 

60.  In  Jesus,  the  most  perfect  revelation  of 
God,  we  have  the  "incarnation  of  God"  or  "God 
manifest  in  the  flesh" — a  concrete  human  figure  in 
which  our  faith  in  God  may  center. — In  the  early 
forms  of  religion,  when  God  was  thought  to  dwell 
literally  in  a  temple,  or  to  appear  occasionally  in 
visible  form  in  certain  places,  or  to  manifest  his 
power  directly  and  supernaturally  in  certain  vis- 
ible or  tangible  ways,  it  was  easy  for  faith  in  his 
existence,  providence,  and  activity  to  be  strong 
and  vivid.  As  the  thought  of  God  becomes  more 
spiritual,  there  is  a  tendency  for  it  to  become  more 
elusive  and  unreal.  When  we  realize  that  we 
cannot  see  or  hear  or  touch  God  in  a  literal  way, 
there  is  great  danger  that  we  shall  think  that  we 
can  know  little  or  nothing  about  him,  or  that  he 
seem  so  far  away  that  he  cannot  be  concerned  about 
us,  and  we  need  not  be  about  him.     The  more 


148     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

spiritual  a  religion  becomes,  the  greater  need  there 
is  for  special  efforts  and  methods  to  make  the 
thought  of  God  appeal  strongly  to  the  imagination 
— to  help  men  to  have  a  pure  and  at  the  same  time 
real,  definite,  and  vivid  faith  in  him.  But  the 
naming  of  attributes  or  qualities  of  character  and 
person  is  a  very  abstract,  and  for  most  people 
unsatisfactory  and  insufficient,  way  of  promoting 
real  acquaintance  with  a  person.  The  Hebrews 
had  a  vivid  idea  of  Jehovah  because  of  their 
accounts  of  his  messages  and  commands  and  revela- 
tions to  them  through  their  prophets,  and  his 
dealings  with  them,  bringing  them  out  of  the 
'^ house  of  bondage"  into  the  ''land  flowing  with 
milk  and  honey,"  and  of  the  ways  in  which  he 
cared  for  them  and  trained  them,  rewarding  their 
virtue  and  punishing  their  sin.  Their  records  of 
God's  words  and  especially  his  acts  made  his 
character  vivid  and  real  to  them.  But  as  we 
cannot  accept  all  of  these  stories  as  literal  history, 
since  we  find  the  truth  clothed  in  anthropomorphic 
forms  which  belong  to  earlier  stages  of  thought, 
there  is  danger  that  we  shall  lose  the  truth  and 
vividness,  the  feeling  of  reality  which  they  gave, 
in  our  thought  of  God.  We  find,  then,  in  our 
accounts  of  the  life  and  words  of  Jesus,  the  picture 
of  such  a  character  as  belongs  to  our  highest  con- 
ception of  God.  If  the  picture  is  historical,  then 
we  have  in  him,  in  a  true  sense,   ''God  manifest 


WHAT  SHALL  WE  BELIEVE  ABOUT  JESUS  ?     149 

in  the  flesh"  or  '^God  incarnate";  for  if  properly 
understood,  those  phrases  express  the  idea  which 
has  been  already  presented,  of  the  fullest  mani- 
festation which  could  be  made  of  God  in  human 
form.  And  even  if  the  picture  should  not  be  in  all 
respects  historical,  it  nevertheless  presents  in  a 
concrete  form,  as  a  description  of  a  human  life, 
the  highest  ideal  we  can  have  of  the  nature  of 
God.  While  we  must  hold  that  the  important 
thing  is  to  have  the  vivid,  powerful  faith  in  the 
'Xhristlike  God,"  and  that  when  one  has  that 
faith  he  has  the  central  and  essential  element  in 
the  Christian  reHgion,  however  he  may  have  come 
to  that  faith,  yet  we  must  say  that  it  is  the  embodi- 
ment of  this  faith  in  the  concrete  figure  of  the  man, 
Jesus,  which  has  given  to  Christianity  its  distinc- 
tive character  and  pecuHar  power,  just  for  the 
reason  presented,  that  it  has  made  this  conception 
of  God  real,  vivid,  and  personal.  As  we  saw  in  the 
last  section  that  it  is  faith  in  God  as  righteous, 
loving,  and  suffering  for  sin  that  is  the  strongest 
force,  drawing  men  from  sin  and  to  God,  so  we 
see  here  that  it  was  " God  incarnate"  or  the  revela- 
tion of  God  in  the  man  Jesus  which  has  most 
clearly  revealed  this  character  of  God  and  made 
this  faith  both  possible  and  vivid,  and  that  in 
this  great  way  Jesus  made  atonement  for  us — 
made  us  ^'at-one"  with  God,  became  the  mediator 
of  salvation,  that  is,  the  means  by  which  the  way 


150     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

of  salvation  was  shown  to  us  most  clearly,  and 
became  the  Savior  of  men.  But  there  is  also  one 
other  great  element  in  this  ''at-one-ment"  which 
we  must  consider  now. 

6i.  It  is  of  great  value  to  man  to  have  a  perfect 
example,  an  ideal  character  as  model  and  inspira- 
tion for  his  own  life,  and  it  is  also  of  great  value  to 
believe  that  it  is  possible  for  a  real  man,  in  sinful 
surroundings,  to  live  the  ideal,  sinless  life.  Both 
of  these  values  we  have  given  to  us  in  Jesus. — 
Where  many  volumes  have  been  written  on  the 
subject,  it  will  of  course  be  impossible  to  do  justice 
to  the  ideal  elements  in  the  character  of  Jesus,  as 
pictured  in  the  Gospels,  in  a  few  words.  It  may 
nevertheless  be  useful  to  call  attention  to  some  of 
the  strikmg  features  of  his  life.  His  life,  then, 
gives  us  the  perfect  faith  in  God  naturally  and 
completely  united  with,  and  expressed  in,  the 
fullest  love  for  man.  It  is  pre-eminently  the  life 
of  service  to  others,  and  thus  gives  to  the  world 
the  most-needed  ideal,  which,  if  it  had  been  ade- 
quately expressed  in  the  lives  of  his  disciples  in  the 
Christian  church  from  his  day  on,  would  have 
made  Christianity  the  religion  of  all  mankind,  and 
established  the  kingdom  of  God  on  earth,  by  this 
time,  perhaps  not  completely,  but  in  a  form  which 
yet  remains  a  far-off  Utopia.  This  expression  of 
the  spirit  of  loving  service  is  thus  the  complete 
realization  of  the  ethical  ideal,  that  is,  the  ideal  of 


WHAT  SHALL  WE  BELIEVE  ABOUT  JESUS  ?     151 

duty  or  of  the  righteous  life  among  men,  and  it 
is  at  the  same  time  the  expression  of  one  of  the 
two  fimdamental  elements  in  the  highest  religion, 
which  is  the  life  flowing  from  love  to  God  and  men. 
It  is  to  be  noted  that  this  life  is  pure  and  self- 
sacrificing,  but  not  ascetic,  nor  one  of  retirement 
from  the  world;  that  pleasure  is  enjoyed  and  not 
avoided,  but  it  is  not  sought  as  an  end.  The  life 
is  not  in  any  way  weak  or  effeminate,  even  though 
it  is,  to  some  extent  at  least,  one  of  non-resistance 
to  physical  force.  It  is  thoroughly  manly,  exhib- 
iting the  highest  courage,  firmness,  and  strength. 

The  conclusion  of  the  earthly  life  of  Jesus  has 
a  very  peculiar  value  as  an  example  for  succeeding 
generations,  in  that  he  was  faithful  unto  death. 
Whether  or  not  he  could  have  avoided  death, 
as  we  have  noticed  before,  he  did  not  do  so,  nor 
make  any  effort  to  do  so;  and  his  death  was  the 
natural  result  of  the  conflict  of  his  righteous  Hfe 
with  the  sinful  lives  which  surrounded  it.  It 
could  readily  be  imagined  that  he  might  have 
found  good  reasons  for  avoiding  such  an  early 
and  cruel  closing  of  his  ministry  on  earth,  and  might 
have  found  ways  of  doing  so,  without  violating 
any  of  the  ordinary  rules  for  right  conduct.  But 
a  little  thought  will  show  us  the  immeasurable 
value  for  mankind  of  the  fact  that  he  suffered  the 
bitterest  possible  result  of  the  righteous  life,  even 
the  shameful,  agonizing  death,  forsaken  by  friends, 


152     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

rejected  by  adherents  as  well  as  by  the  religious 
leaders  of  the  people,  with  the  outward  appear- 
ance of  utter  failure  as  a  result  of  his  whole  life- 
work.  For  again  and  again  have  his  disciples  been 
called  upon  to  give  up  their  own  lives  as  the  price 
of  their  loyalty  to  him  and  to  the  highest  interests 
of  their  fellow-men,  and  without  such  an  example 
from  their  leader  and  Lord,  who  can  say  how  many 
of  them  would  have  been  faithful  unto  death  ? 
If  Jesus  had  not  paid  the  uttermost  price  for  the 
privilege  of  serving  humanity,  would  it  not  be 
very  likely  that  his  disciples  would  say,  when  the 
final  sacrifice  was  demanded:  "The  Master  did 
not  give  up  his  life  for  his  faith  or  his  work — it  is 
not  hkely  that  he  would  expect  us  to  do  so.  We 
must  yield  a  point  here,  or  turn  aside  there,  to 
save  our  lives.  What  service  can  we  perform  after 
we  are  dead?"  And  so  there  would  have  been  a 
measuring  of  the  amount  of  faithfulness  required 
by  God,  and  not  a  complete  and  unquestioning 
faithfulness.  But  history  shows  that  the  example 
of  Jesus,  followed  by  many  thousands  of  martyrs 
in  all  lands,  and  followed,  in  spirit,  by  many  times 
their  number  who  were  ready  for  the  uttermost 
sacrifice,  although  not  called  upon  to  make  it,  has 
been  one  of  the  most  powerful  forces  in  promoting 
the  spread  and  purifying  the  spirit  of  Christianity. 
The  death  of  Jesus,  then,  was  not  only,  as  we  have 
already  seen,   the  supreme  manifestation  of   the 


WHAT  SHALL  WE  BELIEVE  ABOUT  JESUS  ?     153 

suffering  love  of  God,  but  also  the  supreme  mani- 
festation of  the  faithfulness  of  the  ideal  human 
life,  and  thus  again  of  the  love  of  God  for  men 
(in  giving  them  such  an  example  through  Jesus) 
and  of  the  love  of  Jesus,  the  ideal  man,  for  men, 
thus  completing  the  perfect  example  for  human 
life — not,  of  course,  to  be  followed  in  details,  but 
in  spirit  and  fundamental  principles. 

The  second  value  referred  to  in  the  thesis  of 
this  section  is  one  which  is  often  not  recognized, 
but  which  should  be  constantly  kept  in  view.  It 
is  a  very  evil  and  false  doctrhie,  that  every  man 
is  constantly  sinning,  consciously  or  unconsciously, 
and  must  expect  so  to  continue  until  the  end  of 
mortal  life.  The  sinful  life  should  not  be  looked 
upon  as  the  normal  human  life,  but  as  the  ab- 
normal life,  and  the  man  with  the  right  faith  in 
God  must  expect  to  be  constantly  and  increasingly 
triumphing  over  every  evil  motive  which  he  finds 
within  himself.  Although  the  common  experience 
of  mankind  may  not  favor  the  faith  that  many, 
if  any,  of  us  shall  be  able,  during  our  earthly  lives, 
completely  to  avoid  yielding  to  the  lower  motives 
for  periods  of  months  or  years  (although  we  may 
find  frequent  cases  where  this  seems  to  be  at  least 
approximated) ,  yet  we  should  expect  this  experience 
to  become  more  and  more  frequent  in  the  future, 
as  the  spirit  of  Jesus,  the  Spirit  of  God,  becomes 
more  dominant  in   its  influence  over   both   indi- 


154     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

viduals  and  society;  and  we  should  expect  the  time 
to  come,  when — not  after,  but  during  the  earthly 
life — ^most  men,  perhaps  all  men,  shall  be  completely 
ruled  by  the  spirit  of  love  to  God  and  to  men.  If 
we  seriously  take  Jesus  as  our  example,  and  really 
believe,  as  we  have  good  grounds  for  doing,  that 
he,  a  real  human  being,  subject  to  the  same  sort 
of  limitations,  weaknesses,  and  temptations  which 
belong  to  our  condition,  yet  yielded  to  none  of  these 
temptations — never  failed  in  his  love  for  God  and 
men — then  certainly  it  will  greatly  strengthen  our 
faith  in  the  possibility  of  the  sinless  life  for  us, 
and  we  shall  never  again  be  satisfied  as  so  many 
people  are,  with  lives  that  are  outwardly  respect- 
able, or,  at  best,  ruled  only  part  of  the  time  by  the 
spirit  of  love,  and  yielding  much  of  the  time  to 
selfish  habits  and  evil  thoughts.  The  danger  of 
some  forms  of  ''holiness"  doctrine  has  been  pointed 
out  in  section  49.  There  is  perhaps  greater  danger 
in  the  idea  that  sin  is  necessary  to  human  life,  and 
that  we  cannot  hope  completely  to  overcome  it, 
and  need  not  struggle  to  do  so,  until  the  body 
dies. 

62.  Every  way  in  which  the  life  of  Jesus  reveals 
God  and  helps  us  to  turn  from  sin  and  become 
righteous  is  a  means  of  atonement  or  of  reconciling 
man  unto  God,  and  the  atoning  work  of  Jesus 
consists  in  the  sum  of  such  influences. — One  of  the 
greatest  hindrances  to  progress  in  the  perception  of 


WHAT  SHALL  WE  BELIEVE  ABOUT  JESUS  ?     I55 

religious  truth,  and  to  the  co-operation  of  religious 
persons  for  the  carrying-on  of  work  for  humanity, 
has  been  the  failure  to  admit  relativity  or  incom- 
pleteness in  the  views  which  have  been  gained. 
Probably  there  has  been  no  great  teaching  for  which 
honest  and  well-intentioned  people  have  argued, 
struggled,  and  sacrificed  which  has  not  had  some 
real  and  important  truth  embodied  in  it.  The 
difficulty  and  falsity,  and  the  injury  to  the  church 
and  to  religion  have  come  when  people  have  held 
their  theory  or  doctrine  to  be  the  complete  and 
only  expression  of  truth  in  regard  to  the  matter 
concerned.  Various  ''saving  truths"  are  held  by 
various  people,  who  think  that  no  one  can  be  saved 
except  by  believing  these  truths  in  the  same  way 
that  they  do.  But  when  we  consider  that  it  is  sin 
that  we  are  to  be  saved  from,  and  goodness  that  we 
are  to  be  saved  to,  we  are  compelled  to  hold  that 
anything  that  saves  from  sin,  in  any  degree,  or 
helps  toward  righteousness  in  any  degree  is  a  means 
of  salvation.  And  we  see  that  as  a  matter  of  fact 
many  people  profess  and  beHeve  that  they  have 
the  same  faith,  but  the  effect  of  this  common  faith 
upon  their  characters  is  very  unequal  and  dis- 
similar in  different  cases.  So  we  must  say  that 
any  belief  with  regard  to  Jesus  which  helps  a  man 
to  become  better  is  valuable  to  that  extent,  and 
any  way  in  which  the  life  and  words,  death  and 
resurrection  of  Jesus  help  any  man  toward  right- 


156     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

eousness  is  a  way  by  which  Jesus  saves  men  from 
sin.  But  this  salvation  from  sin  must  be  held  to 
mean  the  same  thing  as  reconciling  to  God  or 
making  man  at  one  with  God,  in  the  most  im- 
portant sense,  if  God  is  such  a  being  as  we  believe 
him  to  be.  We  have  pointed  out  the  two  principal 
ways  in  which  the  life  of  Jesus  helps  men  to  the 
life  of  love  to  God  and  man.  If  any  other  ways 
can  be  thought  of  which  are  not  included  in  these 
two  fundamental  ones  (and  their  effect  upon 
society,  and  the  prolongation  and  multiplication 
of  their  influence  through  the  lives  of  those  who 
have  been  influenced  by  them),  they  should  be 
included  in  the  doctrine  of  the  '' atonement,"  or 
the  way  in  which  Jesus  brings  man  into  harmony 
with  God. 

In  section  54  we  showed  that  we  could  not  con- 
sider any  belief  with  regard  to  Jesus  as  of  any 
value  apart  from  its  effect  upon  character.  We 
need  here  only  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that 
various  theories  of  the  atonement  have  been  held 
in  which  Jesus  is  represented  as  doing  something 
through  which,  or  through  belief  in  which,  a  man 
is  saved  quite  apart  from  the  influence  of  the  belief 
upon  the  character,  or  even  without  any  such  influ- 
ence. We  have  shown  that  such  theories  are  with- 
out value.  We  believe,  for  this  reason,  that  they 
are  false,  and  in  many  cases  we  could  point  out 
direct  injury  which  results  from  such  faith.    Indeed, 


WHAT  SHALL  WE  BELIEVE  ABOUT  JESUS  ?     157 

we  may  say  that  every  theory  that  salvation  comes 
in  any  other  way  than  by  the  reformation  of  char- 
acter, or  that  God  requires  a  man  to  beUeve  any- 
thing which  will  not  affect  his  character  favorably, 
is  an  immoral  theory,  misrepresenting  God  and 
misleading  men. 

Space  will  not  permit  us  here  to  go  adequately 
into  the  various  theories  which  have  been  and  are 
still  held  of  the  way  in  which  Jesus  reconciles  us 
to  God,  or  even  of  the  meaning  of  New  Testament 
passages  bearing  on  the  subject.  But  there  is 
no  doubt  that  later  theories  have  been  mistakenly 
read  back  into  the  New  Testament.  If  the  student 
will  carefully  consider  what  has  been  said  in  pre- 
ceding sections  about  the  ways  in  which  Jesus  by 
his  life  and  death  helps  us  to  come  to  God  for  salva- 
tion and  forgiveness,  he  will  be  able  to  interpret 
almost  all,  if  not  all,  the  New  Testament  passages 
in  the  light  of  these  facts,  and  much  more  correctly 
than  is  done  in  many  of  the  traditional  interpreta- 
tions. He  will  see  that  Jesus  did  suffer  *' vicari- 
ously" for  our  sins — that  is,  on  account  of  his 
suffering  we  are  enabled  to  escape  consequences 
of  our  sins  and  sinfulness  which  we  could  not 
otherwise  escape.  He  does  reconcile  us  to  God 
(not  God  to  us — that  is  never  suggested  in  the 
Bible),  and  his  life  is  in  a  very  true  sense  a  ransom 
for  ours.  His  blood  cleanses  us  from  sin.  God 
is  pleased  with  his  perfect  sacrifice,  and  imputes 


158     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

to  those  who  come  to  him  in  faith  that  he  loves 
and  forgives  as  Jesus  did,  and  who  earnestly 
desire  to  become  like  Jesus,  the  righteousness  of 
Jesus.  Careful  thought  will  show  how  all  of  these 
expressions  are  justified  and  find  their  highest 
interpretation  in  those  influences  which  we  have 
seen  to  come  from  the  life  and  death  of  Christ,  and 
will  bring  great  relief  to  those  who  have  found  at 
the  same  time  help  and  comfort,  and  difficulty  and 
perplexity  in  the  traditional  theories,  which  grew 
up  after  the  atmosphere  and  many  of  the  ideas 
which  belonged  to  New  Testament  times  were 
gone,  and  no  longer  understood. 

As  has  already  been  pointed  out,  we  must  not 
say  that  Jesus  is  the  only  ''way  of  salvation"  or 
that  no  man  can  be  saved  except  by  some  particu- 
lar faith  in,  or  relation  to,  him,  if  we  use  those 
words  as  they  would  ordinarily  be  understood.  By 
holding  such  a  doctrine  we  are  in  danger  of  making 
Jesus  a  hindrance  to  salvation  instead  of  the 
mediator  of  salvation.  He  must  not  come  between 
God  and  us  so  as  to  separate  us  from  him.  It  is 
only  when  he  brings  us  to  God  that  he  becomes  in 
any  literal  sense  our  Savior,  and  it  is  God  who 
finally  saves  us,  by  whatever  means.  If  the  words 
''No  man  cometh  to  the  Father  but  by  me"  are 
rightly  attributed  to  Jesus,  we  must  interpret  them, 
as  we  do  his  other  words,  in  the  light  of  his  general 
teaching  and  his  life,  and  hold  that  he  meant  that 


WHAT  SHALL  WE  BELIEVE  ABOUT  JESUS  ?     I59 

the  principles  which  he  taught  and  according  to 
which  he  Hved  were  the  only  ones  by  which  a  man 
might  come  into  harmony  with  God,  and  these 
principles  were  summed  up  in  the  one  of  loving, 
self-giving  service  to  men.  With  this  interpreta- 
tion of  his  words  we  might  hold  that  a  man  who 
had  never  heard  of  Jesus  might  still  come  to  the 
Father  '*by  him"  if  he  lived  the  life  of  love  to  men; 
but  we  must  recognize  that  this  is  a  figurative  and 
not  a  literal  use  of  the  expression.  These  words 
are,  however,  probably  better  understood  as  em- 
bodying the  doctrine  of  the  author  that  Jesus  is 
the  ''Logos,"  the  ''Word,"  manifest  in  the  flesh, 
but  the  same  "Word"  which  "lighteth  every  man 
that  cometh  into  the  world."  So  understood, 
these  words  would  mean,  "No  man  cometh  unto 
the  Father  except  by  accepting  the  revelation 
which,  given  to  every  man  in  some  degree,  was 
peculiarly  manifested  in  Jesus,"  and  their  truth 
would  be  evident. 


CHAPTER  VII 

WHAT   SHALL   WE   BELIEVE   ABOUT   THE   LAST 
THINGS  AND   THE  FUTURE  LIFE? 

''He  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the  Hving." — 
Mark  12:27a. 

63.  The  teachings  of  the  Bible  with  regard  to 
future  events  are  valuable  as  the  expression  of 
the  gradually  developing  faith  of  the  people  among 
whom  and  by  whom  its  books  were  written,  but  not 
as  giving  us  accurate  information  or  final  doctrine 
with  regard  to  them. — This  position  should  be  dear 
from  the  discussion  of  the  Bible  and  its  uses  and 
claims  in  chapters  ii  and  iii,  but  it  may  be  well  to 
consider  the  particular  application  of  the  principles 
explained  there  to  the  subject  now  to  be  considered. 
Bible  scholars  are  practically  unanimous  in  recog- 
nizing progress  in  the  attainment  of  religious  faith, 
expressed  in  the  books  of  the  Bible.  It  is  agreed 
that  the  early  Hebrews  had  no  such  faith  with 
regard  to  the  future  life  as  was  later  developed, 
that  they  thought  of  God's  relations  with  men  as 
practically  confined  to  the  earthly  life,  and  that 
all  men,  good  and  bad,  went  at  death  to  ''Sheol," 
a  place  of  shadowy  and  undesirable  existence,  of 
which  little  definite  was  known  or  thought.  This 
word  ''Sheol"  and  the  Greek  word  ''Hades"  which 
160 


BELIEF  ABOUT  THE  FUTURE  LIFE        i6i 

corresponds  to  it,  have  both  been  translated 
''hell"  in  our  ''authorized  version"  and  been  taken 
to  mean  a  place  of  eternal  torment,  prepared  for 
devils  and  wicked  men.  It  is  clear  that  this  was 
an  incorrect  rendering  of  these  terms. 

At  the  time  of  Jesus'  life,  a  doctrine  of  resurrec- 
tion and  immortality  was  known  among  the  Jews, 
which  forms  the  atmosphere  of  the  thought  on 
these  subjects  in  the  New  Testament.  The  resur- 
rection for  which  the  Pharisees  hoped,  however, 
was  one  confined  to  good  Jews,  and  it  was  to  be 
an  earthly  one,  to  occur  at  the  time  when  the 
Messiah  would  appear  and  establish  his  kingdom, 
and  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  the  faithful  of 
past  ages  to  participate  in  the  glory  of  the  Messiah's 
reign. 

The  Book  of  Revelation,  which  in  its  closing 
chapters  gives  some  beautiful  pictures  of  the  glories 
of  the  future  kingdom  of  God,  does  not  profess 
to  give  a  description  of  a  heaven  above  the  earth 
to  which  good  people  are  to  go  at  death  or  after 
the  judgment,  as  it  has  generally  been  understood, 
but  to  describe  the  supernatural  city  of  Jerusalem, 
which  is  to  come  down  from  heaven,  and  take  the 
place  of  the  earthly  city  of  that  name.  In  order 
to  understand  this  book  and  the  thought  presented 
in  it,  much  of  which  was  familiar  to  the  Jews  at 
the  time  of  Jesus  and  to  Jesus  himself,  we  need  to 
know  that  this  book  and  the  Book  of  Daniel  are 


1 62     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

only  two  of  a  considerable  number  of  apocalypses 
known  at  this  time,  and  similar  in  thought  and  style. 
The  Ethiopic  Book  of  Enoch,  the  Secrets  of  Enoch, 
the  Assumption  of  Moses,  the  Ascension  of  Isaiah, 
the  Apocalypse  of  Ezra,  and  the  Apocalypse  of 
Baruch  are  some  of  these  other  ''Revelations"  full 
of  curious  imagery  and  visions  of  the  future.  They 
constituted  the  literary  expression  of  the  confidence 
of  that  time  that  God's  judgment  on  the  wicked 
and  deliverance  of  his  people  from  all  their  troubles 
were  certain. 

In  view  of  the  nature  of  these  books  and  of 
their  influence  on  the  New  Testament  writers  and 
thinkers  and  the  people  of  Jesus'  time,  in  view  of 
the  general  attitude  which  we  have  seen  must  be 
taken  toward  the  Bible,  and  finally  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  the  humanity  of  Jesus  limited  his  knowl- 
edge of  the  future  as  that  of  other  men,  and  the 
beliefs  of  the  people  whom  he  was  teaching  were 
necessarily  assumed  in  the  form  of  his  teaching 
except  where  he  found  it  necessary  to  correct  them, 
we  must  say  that  we  can  expect  no  definite  and 
detailed  information  in  the  New  Testament, 
even  in  the  words  attributed  to  Jesus,  of  the  events 
and  conditions  of  the  future,  and  must  put  all 
expressions  bearing  on  this  subject  to  the  test 
which  we  have  found  necessary  as  the  test  of  all 
rehgious  faith.  The  teachings  of  Jesus  about  the 
future  must  have  an  especial  value  for  us  as  com- 


BELIEF  ABOUT  THE  FUTURE  LIFE        163 

ing  from  the  one  who  uniquely  manifested  God's 
character  on  earth,  who  had  the  strongest  faith 
in  God  and  the  most  vivid  perception  of  the  natural 
results  of  sin,  and  the  things  to  be  expected  from  a 
loving  and  righteous  heavenly  Father.  That  the 
words  of  Jesus  on  this  subject,  and  still  more,  the 
record  of  those  words,  given  us  from  memory,  and 
written  probably  several  years  at  least  after  they 
were  spoken,  should  bear  the  form  and  color  of  the 
ideas  current  at  the  time  would  be  inevitable. 
So  far  as  the  teaching  of  Jesus  differed  from  the 
faith  common  among  the  people  where  he  was,  we 
must  hold  that  it  was  derived  from,  and  based  on, 
the  firm  conviction  of  the  love  and  power  of  the 
heavenly  Father,  and  thus  it  will  have  great  value 
for  us,  whose  faith  must  be  derived  and  based  in 
the  same  way. 

64.  We  should  believe  that  the  personal 
existence  of  those  who  have  been  striving  for 
righteousness  in  the  earthly  life  will  be  continued 
after  the  death  of  the  body  and  forever  afterward. — 
We  know  that  the  visible,  tangible  human  body 
disintegrates  after  death,  and  its  dust  is  often 
scattered  to  the  winds  or  waters,  or  taken  up  into 
the  Hfe  of  vegetation.  It  is  of  no  value  to  believe 
that  the  particular  atoms  of  matter  which  compose 
the  body  at  the  moment  when  it  dies  shall  be 
gathered  together,  restored  to  their  former  shape, 
and  revitalized  at  some  future  time.     But  it  is 


1 64     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

of  great  value  to  believe  that  in  some  form  we 
shall  continue  to  exist,  to  think  and  love,  remember 
and  act,  to  be  able  to  recognize  friends,  to  enjoy 
beautiful  things.  And  we  have  no  sufficient 
reason  for  denying  that  this  will  be  the  case  for 
those  who  have  come  into  harmony  with  the  Power 
that  governs  the  universe — who  have  been  yielding 
themselves  to  the  control  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 
So  far  as  experience  goes,  the  evidence  is  at  best 
negative.  We  have  not  yet  sufficient  evidence  to 
say  that  we  know  that  human  life  continues 
after  the  death  of  the  body,  although  the  psychic 
phenomena  which  point  to  such  a  continued 
existence  are  many  and  are  being  carefully  investi- 
gated by  some  of  the  great  scientists.  It  is  con- 
ceivable that  within  a  century  or  less  we  may  have 
conclusive  evidence  that  the  soul  or  spiritual 
nature  of  man  continues  to  exist  after  the  body's 
decay.  At  any  rate,  no  one  can  bring  evidence 
to  the  contrary.  The  strongest  reason  for  doubting 
this,  so  far  as  science  is  concerned,  is  the  very  close 
relation  which  we  know  to  exist  between  our 
mental  nature,  thoughts,  feelings,  etc.,  and  our 
physical  constitution,  brain,  and  nervous  system. 
But,  as  Professor  James  has  suggested,  it  may  well 
be  that  the  nervous  system  is  more  like  a  great 
window  of  colored  glass  which  lets  only  a  part  of 
the  outer  light  into  the  temple,  than  like  the  lamp 
which  is  the  source  of  the  light  which  illumines  it, 


BELIEF  ABOUT  THE  FUTURE  LIFE        165 

and  that  when  our  minds  shall  be  freed  from  the 
limitations  of  the  nervous  system,  they  will  be 
far  more  active  and  powerful  than  they  are  now, 
instead  of  being  destroyed.  In  any  case,  there  is 
such  an  utter  difference  between  thought  and 
brain,  between  emotion  and  nerve-currents,  that 
we  cannot  hold  the  destruction  of  the  sensorium  to 
prove  the  annihilation  of  the  personality. 

Everyone  will  easily  recognize  the  fact  that  it 
would  be  a  great  encouragement  to  one  who  was 
sacrificing  opportunities  of  pleasure,  putting  forth 
great  effort,  and  perhaps  wearing  out  or  even 
destroying  (as  in  martyrdom)  the  body,  for  the 
sake  of  the  development  of  the  highest  character, 
and  the  showing  of  the  truest  faith  in  God  and 
love  for  man,  to  believe  that  all  that  had  been 
attained  in  this  struggle  would  be  preserved;  that, 
instead  of  the  human  organism  which  decayed, 
a  still  better  vehicle  for  the  impression  and  expres- 
sion of  the  character  would  be  supplied.  It  is 
certain,  then,  that  the  faith  in  immortality  for 
those  who  were  good,  or  becoming  good,  would 
have  a  good  effect  upon  character. 

This  faith,  however,  is  indissolubly  connected 
with  our  faith  in  God.  If,  as  we  believe,  mankind 
has  been  created  by  a  Being  with  the  character 
which  Jesus  showed,  and  with  this  fundamental 
purpose  in  view,  that  beings  might  be  developed 
who  should  freely  love  God  and  each  other,  and 


1 66     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

gain  characters  like  that  of  God,  then  it  is  incon- 
ceivable that  God  would  permit  those  who  have 
been  gaining  such  characters  by  the  help  of  his 
Spirit  to  die  utterly.  It  is  inconceivable  that  such 
a  God  should  have  permitted  Jesus  to  live  and  die 
as  he  did,  if  his  death  was  the  end  of  his  existence; 
and  also  that  if  Jesus  continues  to  live,  those  whom 
he  loves,  and  who  love  him  on  earth,  shall  fail  of 
opportunity  to  live  on  and  become  more  like  him, 
after  the  brief  course  of  earthly  life  is  completed. 
The  fundamental  argument  of  Jesus  for  the  truth 
of  the  resurrection  was  the  power  of  God — ''God  is 
not  the  God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the  living" — that 
is,  those  whom  he  loves,  and  who  love  him  cannot 
die.  Even  Socrates,  more  than  four  hundred 
years  before  Christ,  said,  "The  gods  cannot  neglect 
the  affairs  of  the  righteous  man,"  and  expected 
immediately  after  his  death  to  be  with  the  happy 
spirits.  Kant  showed  that  we  require  belief  in 
immortality  in  order  to  justify  us  in  obeying  our 
consciences.  The  value  of  this  belief,  then,  must 
be  admitted  by  all  who  find  any  value  in  life  at  all. 
65.  We  should  believe  that  if  there  be  any 
person  who  becomes  utterly  bad,  or  so  hopelessly 
bad  that  there  is  no  possibility  of  his  repenting  and 
becoming  righteous,  his  life  will  cease  at  the  death 
of  the  body,  or  at  some  time  afterward,  when  the 
evil  nature  of  his  character  is  consummated. — 
There  are,  in  our  experience,  some  reasons  for 


BELIEF  ABOUT  THE  FUTURE  LIFE        167 

thinking  that  some  people  refuse  the  good  and 
choose    the    evil    so   often    that    their   characters 
become  in  time  quite  insensitive  to  every  higher 
motive  and  divine  influence,   that  they  destroy 
entirely  their  ability  to  distinguish  between  right 
and  wrong— the  "sin  against  the  Holy   Spirit" 
or   ''unpardonable   sin"   against  which  Jesus  so 
solemnly  warned  those  who  attributed  his  works 
of  love  to  the  spirit  of  evil.     But  we  know  so 
little  of  the  power  of  God,  and  of  the  conditions 
of  the  future  life,  that  we  cannot  say  positively 
that  there  is  any  human  being  whom  God's  love 
will  ultimately  fail  to  reach  and  win.     We  may 
hope  that  he  will  accompHsh  this  purpose  of  salva- 
tion in  the  case  of  everyone,  but  we  cannot  be 
sure.    From   the   loving,   righteous   character   of 
God,  however,  we  may  be  very  confident  that  he 
will  take  no  pleasure  in  the  suffering  of  anyone 
whom  he  has  created,  nor  allow  anyone  to  suffer 
except  in  so  far  as  the  suffering  aids  in  the  accom- 
plishment of  his  purpose  of  salvation.     We  can- 
not conceive  that  it  would  be  of  any  value  to  other 
men  to  have  the  absolutely  bad  tormented  forever 
and  ever,  or  even  continue  to  exist  at  all,  nor 
can  we  imagine  that  this  would  be  of  any  value 
to  God.     On  the  other  hand,  we  must  hold  that 
such   eternal   torment   is  absolutely   contrary   to 
the  nature  of  a  God  who  is  loving,  as  well  as  just 
and  righteous. 


1 68     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

It  is  a  still  more  cruel  and  degrading  conception 
of  God  to  hold  that  he  will  torture  people  forever 
and  ever  because  they  fail  to  believe  certain 
doctrines  of  which  they  may  or  may  not  have 
heard,  but  which,  in  any  case,  were  not  presented 
to  them  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  their  acceptance 
either  absolutely  unavoidable,  or  else  a  final  test 
of  character,  so  that  none  could  reject  them  except 
those  who  rejected  everything  good.  In  the  past, 
when  the  conception  of  God  centered  in  the  thought 
of  his  majesty  and  might,  and  when  there  was  no 
question  about  his  revelation  of  himself  and  his 
will,  and  it  was  thought  that  the  least  sin,  because 
it  was  against  an  infinite  God,  constituted  an 
infinite  insult  to,  or  crime  against,  the  majesty  of 
God,  which  deserved  an  infinite  punishment,  it 
was  possible  for  good  people  to  believe  in  the 
eternal  torment  of  both  wicked  and  ''unbelievers." 
But  for  those  who  accept  the  teachings  of  Jesus 
about  God  as  the  loving,  heavenly  Father  of  all 
men,  it  becomes  a  very  serious  contradiction  in 
faith  to  believe  such  a  doctrine,  and  all  such  would 
abandon  it  if  they  did  not  think  that  the  teaching 
of  the  Bible  required  them  to  believe  it.  It  seems 
to  us  that  the  Bible  teaching  on  the  subject  is 
capable  of  a  very  different  interpretation,  and, 
in  any  case,  we  must  rather  believe  that  God  is 
the  greatest  and  the  best  possible  Being,  and 
will  act  consistently  with  his  character,  than  to 


BELIEF  ABOUT  THE  FUTURE  LIFE        169 

accept   any  contrary   interpretation   of   Scripture 
about  him. 

66.  We  should  beUeve  that  the  life  after  death 
is  somewhat  similar  to  our  earthly  life,  and  that  it 
commences  at  the  point  of  development  reached  at 
death  and  makes  progress  from  that  point  on. — 
The  reasons  which  we  have  found  for  believing 
in  the  continuance  of  life  after  death  require  that 
this  life  should  be  somewhat  similar  to  the  earthly 
life.  If  righteous  character  is  of  value,  we  must 
suppose  the  character  to  continue.  But  this 
means  that  the  reason  and  memory  must  continue, 
at  least,  and  that  there  must  be  some  experiences 
in  the  future  life  for  which  the  present  experiences 
form  a  preparation.  The  article  of  the  Creed 
which  maintains  faith  in  "the  resurrection  of  the 
body"  signifies  not  so  much  the  idea  that  the 
future  life  shall  find  expression  in  bodies  formed 
of  the  same  atoms  as  those  which  composed  it  at 
the  time  of  death,  as  that  we  are  to  have  a  life 
just  as  real  and  full,  at  least,  as  the  one  which  we 
know  now,  and  to  which  the  body  with  all  its 
organs  and  senses  is  so  necessary.  So  we  should 
believe  that  we  shall  have  powers  of  perception  not 
less  varied  and  valuable  than  the  present  senses 
of  the  body,  and  we  cannot  imagine  such  except 
in  some  real  physical  form,  not  altogether  dis- 
similar to  our  present  bodies.  Paul's  teaching 
about  the  future  life  was  that  it  was  to  be  in  bodily 


lyo     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

form,  but  in  bodies  different  from,  and  superior 
to,  those  we  know  here.  Our  faith  in  God  would 
require  us  to  believe  that  the  future  life  is  in  no 
way  inferior  to  our  present  life,  but  rather  in 
various  ways  superior.  Of  course  we  cannot 
describe  those  ways,  since  we  have  no  experience 
of  them. 

As  character,  in  our  experience,  is  always 
developed  by  gradual  stages,  we  have  no  right  or 
reason  to  think  that  when  the  body  decays  we 
shall  suddenly  become  perfect  in  character,  or 
make  any  tremendous  leap  forward  all  at  once. 
We  may  well  think  that  in  the  future  life  some  of 
the  temptations  of  the  present  will  be  wanting, 
and  that  there  will  be,  perhaps,  a  segregation,  at 
least  of  those  who  are  worst  in  character,  so 
that  conditions  for  becoming  good  will  be  more 
favorable  in  some  respects.  But  it  certainly  is 
not  the  best  form  of  life  of  which  we  can  think, 
that  there  should  be  no  further  test  of  or 
development  of  character  in  the  ages  which 
we  hope  to  live  after  this  brief  life  is  over. 
And  so  we  cannot  think  that  we  either  cease 
to  grow,  or  attain  completeness,  at  the  hour  of 
death.  There  is  no  reason  why  we  should  not 
expect  to  grow  in  knowledge  and  skill  as  well 
as  character  in  the  future  life,  as  we  do  here, 
and  to  continue  from  the  stage  where  we  here 
leave  off. 


BELIEF  ABOUT  THE  FUTURE  LIFE        171 

67.  We  should  believe  in  both  a  heavenly  state 
and  place  for  those  who  love  God  and  man,  follow- 
ing this  earthly  life,  but  should  not  attempt  to 
determine  either  the  conditions  or  the  location  of 
this  life  definitely. — The  earlier  pictures  of  heaven 
were  of  a  place  of  delight  to  the  senses,  where 
everything    was    beautiful,    golden,    crystal,    and 
where  everything  which  could  please  the  senses 
abounded — splendor,  music,  fruits  of  all  kinds,  etc. 
And  in  the  days  before  the  revolution  of  the  earth 
on  its  axis,  and  the  form  and  conditions  of  the 
stars  and  planets,  were  understood,  it  was  thought 
that  this  beautiful  heaven  was  to  be  found  some- 
where in  the  sky  above  us,  among  or  beyond  the 
stars.     Knowledge  of  astronomy,  leading  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  ''sky  above  us"  is  really  the 
space  about  the  earth  in  every  direction,  compelled 
the  abandonment  of  the  idea  that  we  could  tell 
definitely  just  where  ''heaven"  is.     It  is  never- 
theless true  that  the  only  existence  of  which  we 
know  or  which  we  can  imagine  is  existence  in 
space,  and  in  some  particular  part  of  space.     If, 
then,  we  believe  that  good  people  continue  to  Hve 
and  to  associate  with  one  another,  we  must  think 
of  this  as  taking  place  in  some  particular  location 
or  locations,  but  whether  this  shall  be  on  earth  or  in 
the  air,  or  on  some  planet  or  star,  we  have  no  rea- 
son for  guessing.     It  may  be  that  we  shall  be  free 
to  roam  through  the  uttermost  regions  of  the  uni- 


172     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

verse,  but  even  then  we  should  not  want  to  be  quite 
homeless  and  with  no  place  in  which  to  expect  to 
find  our  friends.  It  is  helpful,  then,  to  continue  to 
use  the  word  heaven  to  indicate  the  place  in  which 
the  good  shall  meet  each  other  in  the  future  life. 

But  it  has  also  become  apparent,  from  our 
experience,  that  no  outward  surroundings  can  fully 
determine  our  mental  conditions,  either  of  happi- 
ness or  of  misery ;  and  so  it  is  evident  that  the  most 
important  meaning  of  the  term  heaven  is  that  of  a 
happy  condition  of  spirit,  w^ith  the  opportunities  for 
enjoying  friendship  and  expressing  love  continued 
and  improved.  Our  own  characters,  then,  and 
those  of  the  people  with  whom  we  associate,  will  be 
the  most  important  conditions  of  future  happiness, 
and  we  may  expect  the  outward  surroundings  to  be 
suitable  to  the  inner,  and  both  to  be  better  than  we 
can  imagine  here.     Browning's  lines: 

All  we  have  ever  hoped  or  dreamed  of  good,  shall  exist, 
Not  its  semblance,  but  itself, 

are  the  expression  of  the  highest  faith  in  God  and 
for  man. 

68.  We  should  believe  that  God  is  constantly 
judging  us  according  to  our  character  and  motives, 
but  not  that  there  will  be  any  set  time,  as,  for 
example,  the  hour  of  death,  for  the  judgment  of  the 
individual,  or  a  specific  judgment  day  for  the 
judgment  of  all  who  live  and  have  lived,  or  of  the 
nations. — If,  as  we  believe,  God  knows  all  about  us, 


BELIEF  ABOUT  THE  FUTURE  LIFE        173 

our  past  lives,  our  thoughts,  and  our  motives,  then 
he  is  constantly  judging  us,  and  giving  us,  not  so 
much  what  we  deserve  as  what  is  best  for  us,  in 
view  of  his  infinite  love  and  knowledge  of  our 
needs.  As  people  die  at  all  stages  of  the  develop- 
ment of  character — when  it  is  just  beginning  as 
well  as  when  it  seems  to  have  taken  permanent 
form,  to  have  crystallized  or  hardened-  we  cannot 
think  that  a  righteous  God  would  make  the  eternal 
condition  of  happiness  or  misery  dependent  on  the 
stage  which  a  person  had  reached  at  death.  We 
may  well  say  that  the  whole  future  life  is  to  some 
extent  determined  by  the  state  which  we  have 
reached  at  any  particular  time,  as  it  cannot  be 
uninfluenced  by  it,  and  must  always  go  on  from 
what  has  been  gained  at  any  time;  but  as  we  have 
seen  that  we  must  believe  in  development  after 
death  as  well  as  before,  there  seems  to  be  no 
sufficient  reason  for  holding  that  the  moment  of 
transition  from  the  bodily  Hfe  to  what  may  lie 
beyond  should  be  of  such  terrible  significance. 
Apart  from  the  better  ideas  of  God's  ways  of  deal- 
ing with  men  and  determining  their  destinies, 
it  is  contrary  to  our  conception  of  justice  to  think 
that  the  events  of  human  life,  or  perhaps  of  only 
the  last  few  minutes  of  it,  should  determine  for 
any  man  either  an  eternity  of  unblemished  bliss 
or  one  of  unmitigated  suffering  and  horror.  That 
faith  in  God  which  says  that  such  a  judgment  is 


174     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

inconceivable  is  far  truer  than  that  which  beHeves 
that  it  will  come  because  some  metaphorical 
writings  which  men  have  imagined  to  literally 
reveal  God's  will  without  error  seem  to  teach  such 
a  thing. 

As  individuals  are  constantly  being  judged 
and  rewarded  or  punished  according  to  their  deeds, 
so,  in  a  true  sense,  are  nations  also.  The  nation 
in  which  principles  of  selfishness,  luxury,  vice,  and 
cruelty  prevail  is  already  judged  and  being  punished 
by  decay  of  health  and  character.  The  nation  in 
which  the  principles  of  altruism,  righteousness, 
and  purity  prevail  is  also  judged  and  is  being 
rewarded  by  increase  of  power  and  prosperity. 
Probably  the  principal  meaning,  and  certainly  the 
whole  value  of  the  biblical  pictures  of  judgment 
scenes  consist  in  this  truth  that  individuals  and 
nations  will  all  be  judged  according  to  their  lives, 
by  the  highest  principles  of  action.  And  the  real 
meaning  of  the  doctrine  that  Jesus  will  be  the 
judge  of  the  whole  earth  is  that  the  whole  earth  is 
constantly  being  judged  and  approved  or  con- 
demned by  the  moral  principles  which  Jesus  showed 
in  his  life. 

It  should  be  noted  that  when  we  speak  of 
national  sin,  guilt,  and  punishment  we  are  using 
a  very  convenient  figure  of  speech,  which,  how- 
ever, must  not  be  taken  literally,  or  we  shall  come 
into   difficulty   and   confusion.     Only   individuals 


BELIEF  ABOUT  THE  FUTURE  LIFE        175 

can  sin  or  be  guilty  or  be  punished.  ''National 
sin"  is  sin  which  is  common  or  prevailing  in  a 
nation,  among  the  individuals  which  compose  it, 
or  wrong  which  is  regarded  as  done  by  the  nation 
in  its  corporate  capacity,  as  by  the  government 
or  army.  The  fact  that  each  individual  of  a 
nation,  and  especially  many  innocent  individual 
members  of  it,  may  suffer  on  account  of  such 
^'national  sins"  has  led  to  a  too  literal  application 
of  the  terms  guilt,  punishment,  etc.,  to  such  com- 
mon or  prevailing  sins.  The  deeper  problems 
involved  are  considered  in  the  general  problem 
of  evil  and  its  meaning.  (See  section  38.)  Here 
we  are  only  considering  what  meaning  there  is  in 
the  idea  of  national  judgment. 

The  only  imaginable  value  of  a  literal  fulfilment 
of  the  visions  of  future  judgment  scenes  would  be 
to  impress  the  justice  or  power  of  God  on  some 
onlooker,  since  God  requires  no  such  circumstances 
to  determine  the  guilt  or  innocence  of  anyone; 
and  to  think  of  God  as  doing  his  judging  and 
sentencing  in  the  same  way  that  men  do,  only 
on  a  larger  scale,  is  to  make  his  judgment  an 
unspiritual  and  artificial  thing,  and  to  think  of 
him  as  being  under  limitations  like  those  of  human 
judges  and  kings.  And  as  there  would  be  no 
indifferent  onlookers  in  such  a  final  judgment  of 
the  earth  as  that  imagined,  there  is  no  conceivable 
value  in  thinking  that  such  a  spiritual  vision  will 


176     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

be  literally  fulfilled;  and  on  the  other  hand,  it  is 
contrary  both  to  the  laws  of  space  and  time  under 
which  we  live,  and  to  the  ways  in  which  we  know 
God  to  deal  with  men  and  nations. 

69.  We  should  believe  that  the  lives  of  men, 
both  as  individuals  and  as  masses  or  society,  will 
constantly  improve  under  the  influence  of  God's 
Spirit  working  upon  and  through  the  lives  of  men, 
on  earth,  but  not  that  there  will  be  any  sudden  and 
supernatural  events  which  will  change  the  influence 
of  God  upon  society  from  its  spiritual  form  to  that 
of  force. — A  careful  consideration  of  God's  ways 
of  making  men  good  and  bringing  them  into 
submission  to  his  will,  into  the  fellowship  of  his 
love,  will  show  that  they  are  fundamentally  spiritual 
or  ethical.  It  is  true  that  God  constantly  rewards 
virtue  of  certain  sorts  with  physical  comfort  or 
pleasure  and  punishes  sins  of  certain  sorts  with 
physical  pain;  but  it  is  to  be  noted  that  a  person 
might  abstain  from  the  vices  which  bring  physi- 
cal disease  and  pain  and  live  the  life  tending  to 
physical  health  and  pleasure,  from  motives  of  pure 
selfishness  and  without  developing  a  good  charac- 
ter at  all.  It  is  the  voluntary  obedience  to  the 
voice  within,  irrespective  of  outward  consequences, 
the  choosing  of  the  higher  motives  because  they 
are  higher,  and  not  from  any  other  compulsion, 
the  yielding  to  the  attraction  of  the  righteous  and 
loving  person,   not   because   of   some   reward   or 


BELIEF  ABOUT  THE  FUTURE  LIFE        177 

punishment  of  a  physical  sort  that  is  expected 
or  feared,  which  develops  true  character.  Jesus 
refused  to  convince  his  hearers  of  his  divine 
authority  by  wonderful  deeds,  because  the  only 
real  ground  of  his  authority  was  the  righteousness 
and  truth  of  what  he  taught  and  enjoined,  and 
that  authority  appealed  directly  to  the  reason 
and  conscience  of  those  who  listened  to  him. 
The  obedience  which  follows  only  upon  physical 
compulsion  of  some  sort  has  no  element  of  real 
righteousness  in  it  and  develops  no  valuable 
character. 

These  considerations  lead  us  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  ways  in  which  God  has  hitherto  taught 
men  and  helped  them  to  become  good  will  never 
be  superseded,  as  they  are  the  best,  and  indeed  the 
only  imaginable  ways  in  which  the  kind  of  life 
which  God  desires  could  be  developed.  We  must 
therefore  conclude  that  the  apocalyptic  pictures 
of  a  millennium  in  which  all  evil  will  be  forcibly 
removed  and  subdued,  and  good  will  reign  by 
force  and  not  by  the  free  acceptance  by  men  of  the 
principles  of  goodness,  belong  to  an  age  when  God's 
ways  were  not  clearly  understood  and,  as  literal 
prophecies  of  the  future,  must  be  abandoned  by 
those  who  have  received  God's  fuller  revelation. 
If,  as  some  Christian  people  hold,  particularly 
because  they  think  the  Bible  teaches  it,  the  world 
is  growing  continually  worse,  then  it  is  evident 


178     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

that  the  work  of  Jesus  and  the  Spirit  of  God  is 
unsuccessful  in  the  world;  that  the  kingdom  of 
God  is  not  coming  and  spreading  as  yeast  in  the 
meal,  or  as  seed  growing  in  the  ground,  but  is 
being  more  and  more  defeated;  and  that  the 
methods  which  God  has  been  using  to  bring  the 
world  to  himself  are  not  adapted  to  the  most  of 
mankind.  But  this  is  really  to  give  up  our  faith 
in  a  Christlike  God.  For  the  methods  which 
Christ  used  and  set  in  motion  for  the  salvation 
of  society  were  moral  and  spiritual,  and  if  God  is 
like  Jesus  we  must  think  that  he  would  certainly 
make  use  of  the  most  effective  methods  of  saving 
the  world,  and  would  also  use  the  methods  which 
Jesus  used.  To  hold  that  the  kingdom  of  God 
could  be  established  only  by  supernatural  and  non- 
ethical,  non-moral  means  is  to  deny  the  teaching 
of  Jesus  and  the  value  of  his  life  and  work. 
To  hold  that  the  world  is  constantly  growing 
worse,  in  spite  of  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
and  the  efforts  of  the  disciples  of  Christ  and  the 
children  of  God,  is  to  take  a  most  discouraging 
view  of  the  power  of  God  and  of  Christianity,  and 
of  the  value  of  missionary  and  general  efforts  for 
the  improvement  of  society  in  all  ways.  It  tends 
to  make  people  regard  all  efforts  for  the  bettering 
of  social  conditions,  and  improvement  of  the  gen- 
eral standards  of  morality  as  useless,  and  has 
kept  many  people  from  co-operating  in  such  work. 


BELIEF  ABOUT  THE  FUTURE  LIFE        179 

Besides,  this  view  ignores  the  plain  facts  of  history. 
It  is  only  the  most  prejudiced  who  can  fail  to  see 
that  there  has  been  great  progress  and  improve- 
ment in  the  conditions  of  mankind,  not  only 
materially,  but  also  morally  and  spiritually,  since 
the  time  of  Christ;  and  although  doubtless  ''evil 
men  and  seducers"  are  waxing  worse  and  worse, 
yet  the  masses  of  men  are  becoming  better  and 
the  possibility  of  living  human  life  according  to 
Christian  principles  is  yearly  becoming  greater 
and  clearer.  There  has  probably  been  no  decade 
since  the  time  of  the  apostles  when  Christians 
have  not  seen  the  signs  of  the  ''last  days"  in  the 
events  about  them,  "wars  and  rumors  of  wars," 
calamities,  and  impostors  of  all  sorts,  and  what  was 
taken  for  apostasy  and  the  teaching  of  the  "anti- 
Christ."  But  the  looked-for  supernatural  events 
of  the  return  of  Jesus  literally  in  the  clouds  and 
glory,  and  the  establishment  of  his  reign  on  earth 
in  outward  visible  form,  have  not  yet  come.  The 
failure  of  the  prophecies  of  those  who  thought  it 
of  more  importance  to  calculate  from  the  obscure 
language  of  Daniel  and  Revelation,  as  to  just 
when  these  supernatural  events  should  come,  and 
to  prepare  their  "ascension  robes,"  rather  than  to 
help  make  the  Spirit  of  God,  the  spirit  of  loving 
service,  regnant  in  all  the  affairs  of  human  life,  has 
shown  how  they  have  misunderstood  the  gospel 
and  its  fundamental  principles. 


i8o     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

We  need  not  concern  ourselves  with  the  final 
end  of  human  life  upon  the  earth.  Probably  life 
on  the  earth  will  at  some  time  come  to  an  end, 
although  that  may  well  be  millions  of  years  hence, 
but  when  it  comes,  it  will  doubtless  come  in  the  way 
that  God  sees  best,  and  probably  in  a  "natural" 
way,  as  God  probably  does  everything  in  natural 
ways,  if  we  could  only  fully  understand  them. 
But  however  it  may  be,  it  will  at  worst  be  but  a 
changing  from  the  earthly  life  to  the  later  form  of 
hfe  in  a  sudden  way,  earlier  for  some  people  than 
would  perhaps  naturally  be  expected;  and  it  would 
be  nothing  more  to  be  feared  than  the  famihar 
forms  of  death  which  surround  us.  If  God  re- 
vealed his  very  nature  in  Christ,  then  the  one  who 
has  the  Christian  faith  has  nothing  to  fear  but 
everything  to  hope  for,  in  the  future.  The  Chris- 
tian faith  is  the  purest  and  most  concrete  form  of 
optimism. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

HOW  SHALL  WE  CULTIVATE  AND  EXPRESS  THE 
BEST  FAITH? 

"How  then  shall  they  call  on  him  in  whom  they  have 
not  believed  ?  and  how  shall  they  believe  in  him  whom  they 
have  not  heard?  and  how  shall  they  hear  without  a 
preacher  ?  and  how  shall  they  preach  except  they  be  sent  ?'* 
— Rom.  10:14,  15a. 

70.  As  the  primary  test  of  the  best  faith  is  the 
kind  of  character  or  life  which  it  will  produce,  so  the 
absolutely  essential  expression  of  the  best  faith  is 
the  life  of  loving  service  to  men. — There  are  two 
dangers  with  regard  to  religious  faith.  The  first  is 
that  a  man  may  profess  to  believe  something  and 
even  fancy  he  does  believe  it,  when  it  really  is  little 
more  than  a  form  of  words  to  him,  and  if  you  should 
make  a  plain  application  of  his  professed  faith  to 
his  life,  at  some  sensitive  point,  he  would,  if  honest, 
acknowledge  that  he  did  not  believe  what  he  had 
thought  he  did.  But  the  other  danger,  which  is 
probably  the  more  common  one,  is  that  a  man 
should  honestly  believe  some  religious  principle 
but  have  it  so  seldom  in  his  mind  and  think  so 
little  about  it  that  his  life  would  show  few  or  no 
results  from  it,  or,  in  other  words,  that  he  should 
hold  his  faith  only  part  of  the  time  instead  of  all 
the  time. 


i82     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

So  far  as  our  actions  are  voluntary,  they  are 
determined  by  the  thoughts  and  emotions  that  are 
in  our  minds  when  we  act.  A  man  strikes  his  wife 
because  he  is  angry  with  her.  He  may  at  other 
times  love  his  wife — at  such  times  he  could  not 
strike  her.  At  one  time  the  only  thought  in  his 
mind  is  of  something  displeasing  to  him  about  his 
wife's  words  or  actions.  Then  he  is  angry  and 
strikes.  If  at  that  moment  his  mind  had  been 
filled  with  thoughts  of  all  the  good  things  his  wife 
had  done,  it  would  have  been  quite  impossible  for 
him  to  strike  her.  Thus  one's  action  is  determined 
by  the  thought  or  the  faith  that  he  has  at  the  time 
of  action. 

As  the  idea  has  been  so  prevalent  that  when  we 
have  the  right  religious  faith  we  are  in  some  way 
safe,  have  some  great  advantage  from  it,  we  need  to 
keep  continually  reminding  ourselves  that  our  faith 
is  worth  nothing  except  as  it  affects  our  life,  and 
thus  to  be  continually  testing  our  faith  by  its 
fruits  in  life. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  only  life  that  would 
naturally  spring  or  could  possibly  flow  from  the 
best  faith  is  that  which  has  for  its  determining 
motive  love  for  God  and  men.  But  the  love  for 
men  is  the  easier  to  test,  and  is  even  more  essential 
than  love  for  God  as  an  evidence  of  a  right  devel- 
opment of  character.  For  a  man  may  honestly 
doubt  whether  there  be  a  Christlike  God,  and 


HOW  CULTIVATE  THE  BEST  FAITH?       183 

therefore  be  unable  truly  to  say  he  loves  God,  but 
no  one  who  has  learned  to  think  rightly  can  doubt 
his  duty  to  love  and  serve  his  fellow-men.  If  God 
be  what  Christians  believe  him  to  be,  it  would  be 
impossible  for  a  man  to  love  him  without  loving  his 
fellows,  since  love  to  men  is  the  will  and  command 
of  God,  and  the  nature  which  would  love  God  truly 
must  be  one  which  would  love  man  truly.  So 
we  may  be  sure  that  one  who  does  not  love  his 
fellows  does  not  truly  love  God.  But  the  con- 
verse is  not  true.  One  may  love  his  fellow-men 
while,  for  a  time,  unable  to  beheve  in  God.  How- 
ever, in  this  case  the  man  has  the  character 
which  would  love  God,  and  will,  as  soon  as, 
through  intellectual  enlightenment,  behef  in  God 
becomes  possible.  The  life  of  love  to  men  is 
therefore  the  necessary  and  only  positive  evidence 
of  a  saving  faith. 

71.  As  the  central  principle  of  the  best  faith  is 
belief  in  a  Christlike  God,  its  most  direct  expression 
will  be  in  the  form  of  personal  communion  or 
prayer.— In  comparing  this  thesis  with  the  last  one, 
we  note  that  the  central  principle  is  a  different 
thing  from  the  ''primary  test,"  and  that  the  most 
direct  expression  is  not  the  same  as  its  ''absolutely 
essential  expression."  If  Jesus  were  with  us  today, 
and  we  really  loved  him,  the  most  natural  and 
direct  expression  of  that  love  would  be  in  our 
entering  into  personal  touch  and  fellowship  with 


i84     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

him,  if  that  were  possible.  And  if  we  realized  our 
need  of  health  of  soul  or  of  body  for  ourselves  or  for 
our  friends,  and  believed  that  he  could  give  what 
was  needed,  it  would  be  most  natural  that  we  should 
go  to  him  and  ask  him  for  what  we  wanted.  If, 
then,  we  really  beHeve  that  God  is  in  character  like 
Jesus,  and  that  we  can  speak  to  him,  and  have  a 
real  fellowship  with  him,  even  though  he  does  not 
answer  us  in  just  the  way  other  personal  beings — 
those  with  bodies  and  mouths — do,  and  that  he 
can  give  us  and  our  friends  the  things  which  we 
need,  it  is  most  natural  that  we  should  seek  for 
such  fellowship  and  bring  to  him  our  requests. 
If  we  fail  to  do  this,  it  must  be  because  we  doubt 
either  the  possibility  or  the  value  of  such  fellowship 
or  favor. 

The  principal  value  of  prayer  is  to  be  found  in 
the  fellowship  with  God  which  it  promotes,  and 
which  can  be  promoted  in  no  other  way  so  well. 
We  shall  consider  in  succeeding  sections  the  subject 
of  requests  made  in  prayer,  and  reasons  for  expect- 
ing them  to  be  granted.  But  since  God  loves  us 
and  knows  our  needs  and  desires  without  our 
expressing  them  to  him  in  definite  form,  we  shall 
not  find  the  bringing  of  requests  to  God  for  the 
sake  of  getting  favors,  which  we  could  not  expect 
otherwise,  the  most  important  element  in  prayer. 
Many  of  the  blessings  thus  asked  for  and  granted 
would  come  to  us  if  we  did  not  ask  for  them,  but 


HOW  CULTIVATE  THE  BEST  FAITH?      185 

in  that  case  they  would  not  promote  in  us  the 
feeling  of  personal  relationship  between  God  and  us 
which  is  of  the  highest  value  for  the  development  of 
our  faith  and  religious  life.  This  sense  of  fellow- 
ship is  to  be  promoted  by  the  expression  of  adora- 
tion, praise,  thanksgiving,  and  the  confession  of  sin, 
as  well  as  the  asking  for  blessings  which  we  need; 
and  particularly  the  greatest  and  most  important 
ones,  which  we  are  surest  that  it  is  in  accordance 
with  God's  will  to  grant — namely,  those  that  con- 
cern the  spiritual  life  most  directly.  And  the 
answers  to  such  prayers  are  to  be  found,  not,  for 
the  most  part,  in  mystical  experiences  or  unusual  or 
supernatural  events,  but  in  those  familiar  experi- 
ences which  we  have  learned  to  know  as  the  only 
sure  tokens  of  God's  deaHngs  with  us — namely,  the 
arising  of  good  thoughts,  the  development  of  high 
motives,  the  increasing  of  our  love  for  all  that  is 
good,  and  the  strengthening  of  our  faith  in  God. 
These  experiences  seem  to  us  so  common  and 
so  natural  that  we  often  fail  to  recognize  them 
as  messages  and  blessings  from  God  of  the  great- 
est value.  Their  value  for  us  would  be  much 
greater  if  we  did  receive  them  as  answers  to  our 
prayers,  and  as  that  reciprocation  on  God's  part 
of  our  expressions  of  love  to,  and  fellowship 
with,  him. 

It  should  be  carefully  noted  that  nothing  else 
can  take  the  place  of  prayer  in  thus  promoting  the 


1 86     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

sense  of  personal  relationship  with  God.  It  is  very 
true,  from  one  point  of  view,  that — 

Prayer  is  the  soul's  sincere  desire, 

Uttered  or  unexpressed, 

since  God  knows  our  desires  and  will  grant  them  if 
they  are  for  things  which  are  really  good  for  us, 
whether  we  formulate  them  in  definite  prayer  or 
not.  But  if  I  fail  to  spend  some  time  in  definite, 
expressed  prayer,  and  consider  the  having  of  good 
thoughts  and  desires  sufficient,  I  shall  certainly  not 
strengthen  but  rather  weaken  my  faith  in  God  as  a 
personal  friend,  whose  fellowship  I  desire  to  cul- 
tivate as  the  greatest  joy  and  privilege;  and  thus 
my  reHgion  is  likely  to  decay  and  not  to  grow,  for 
life  and  growth  depend  upon  exercise  and  expression 
and  will  certainly  cease  without  it. 

72.  Since  prayer  to  God  presupposes  true  faith 
in  God,  including  the  belief  that  God  wills  every- 
thing that  is  best  for  men,  everyone  who  prays 
should  believe  that  his  prayers  are  heard  and 
answered  in  the  highest  and  best  way  possible. — 
Strength  of  faith  is  often  considered  to  be  the  chief 
requisite  to  prevailing  prayer,  but  it  is  likely  that 
truth  of  faith  is  at  least  as  important.  That  is,  in 
order  to  pray  effectually  and  helpfully,  we  must 
realize  the  character  of  God  to  whom  we  pray,  and 
our  prayers  must  be  suited  to  such  a  Person  as  the 
one  to  whom  they  are  directed.  Now,  as  we  have 
seen,  we  should  believe  that  God's  action  in  the 


HOW  CULTIVATE  THE  BEST  FAITH?      187 

universe  is  fundamentally  determined  by  his  loving 
character,  and  his  action  in  relation  to  men  must  be 
thought  of  as  completely  determined  by  his  desire 
for  their  highest  good.     Further,  we  must  believe 
that  God  knows  just  what  is  for  the  highest  good 
of  men  as  no  man  can  know  it  either  for  himself  or 
for  others.     Hence  we  must  believe,  constantly, 
that  all  the  events  in  the  world  for  which  God  is 
responsible  are  the  best  that  could  possibly  happen 
to  men  in  view  of  all  the  conditions  and  circum- 
stances.    When  we  pray,  therefore,  we  must  always 
pray  "Thy  will  be  done,"  and  desire,  above  all  and 
including  all,  that  God's  will  for  men  should  be 
accomplished.     Our  particular  requests,  therefore, 
must   always   have    this   provision   expressed   or 
understood:  *'If  it  be  best,"  or  "  If  it  be  according 
to  Thy  will."    And  then,  since  God  is  sure  to  do 
what  is  best,  in  so  far  as  that  is  possible,  we  must 
regard  the  things  which  actually  happen  (in  so 
far  as  they  are  God's  action)  as  the  best   that 
could  happen,  and  believe  that  our  prayers  are 
answered   and  our  requests  in   their   real  inten- 
tion granted.     Thus  we,  if  we  have  the  right  faith 
in  God,  should  never  speak  of  unanswered  prayers. 
All  of  our  prayers  are  answered,  and  our  requests 
are  granted  if   they  are  best  and  possible;   and 
if  they  are  not  best,  we  would  not  want  them; 
if  they  are  not  possible,  we  cannot  expect  them 
to  be  granted. 


i88     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

73.  We  should  understand  that  God's  power  is 
limited  in  certain  ways  and  should  not  ask  God  to 
do  what  we  have  good  reason  to  believe  he  could 

not  do.— Although  we  speak  of  God  as  almighty, 
that  attribute  is  not  to  be  taken  to  mean  that  he 
can  do  everything  which  can  be  imagined.  It 
means  rather  that  God  can  do  whatever  can  be  done 
which  is  in  accordance  with  his  character  and  will. 
We  must  therefore  recognize  some  limitations 
which  belong  even  to  God's  action,  and  recognize, 
too,  that  there  may  be  others  of  which  we  do  not 
know. 

God  is  limited  by  reality  or  fact — he  cannot 
make  that  which  has  happened  not  to  have 
happened.  He  may  have  many  ways  which  we 
cannot  imagine  of  changing  the  expected  course  of 
events,  so  that  our  prayers  with  regard  to  the  future 
might  be  granted,  even  though  the  forces  which  we 
know  to  be  in  operation  would  (without  the  modify- 
ing effect  of  some  other  force,  which  perhaps  does 
not  come  into  operation  until  we  pray)  bring  about 
a  contrary  result.  But  we  have  no  right  to  ask 
him  to  do  anything  which  would  clearly  involve 
the  contradiction  or  reversal  of  what  has  actually 
occurred.  He  cannot  change  the  fact  that  it  has 
occurred. 

God  is  also  limited  by  his  nature  and  will.  He 
has  instituted  certain  methods  of  creation  and 
support  of  the  universe  as  the  best  if  not  the  only 


HOW  CULTIVATE  THE  BEST  FAITH?      189 

possible  ones.  His  methods  are  always  consistent 
or  uniform,  not  with  the  mechanical  uniformity  of 
a  machine— at  least  not  in  all  the  departments  of 
his  activity — but  with  the  consistency  of  the 
highest  knowledge,  wisdom,  and  justice,  in  which 
there  can  be  no  arbitrary  action,  but  only  that 
which  follows  from  his  loving  and  righteous  char- 
acter. We  have  come,  in  the  last  century,  to  see 
that  God's  ways  in  Nature  are  uniform;  that  he 
does  nothing  by  magic,  but  all  by  what  we  call 
natural  forces  or  means;  that  there  is  no  such  thing 
as  a  suspension  of  or  interference  with  the  forces  of 
Nature,  but  that  God  always  accomplishes  his  will 
in  the  physical  universe  by  means  of,  and  not  in 
spite  of,  ''natural  forces."  If  he  moves  a  ship,  it  is 
either  by  wind  or  tide  or  engine.  If  he  makes  or 
keeps  a  man  alive,  it  is  always  by  means  of  the 
beating  of  the  heart,  the  circulation  of  the  blood, 
the  breathing  of  the  lungs,  and  never  without 
them. 

In  the  realm  of  the  spirit  he  also  works  in  uni- 
form ways.  We  have  a  much  less  complete  under- 
standing of  the  laws  of  the  mind  and  spirit  than  of 
the  ways  of  matter,  but  we  can  trace  their  working 
to  some  extent.  God  brings  people  to  repentance 
and  makes  them  good  through  thoughts  which 
come  to  them  from  words  that  are  spoken  or  read 
or  experiences  which  happen  in  the  daily  life. 
Doubtless  there  are  other  and  less  explicable  ways 


I  go     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

in  which  he  works  upon  the  spirit,  but  we  skould 
not  think  that  they  are  more  divine  because  we 
cannot  understand  them.  We  should  rather  seek 
to  understand  them  as  fully  as  possible  in  order 
that  we  may  come  into  the  fullest  harmony 
with  them. 

One  of  the  ways  in  which  God  is  limited,  which 
concerns  us  most  directly,  is  by  the  freedom  which 
he  has  given  to  man  to  choose  good  or  evil.  We 
have  considered  the  reasons  for  this  freedom  and  its 
value  for  man.  We  cannot  expect  that  God  will 
violate  this  freedom  in  answer  to  our  requests — 
that  he  will  make  us  or  others  what  we  and  they  do 
not  choose  to  be  made.  He  may,  in  answer  to 
prayer,  bring  certain  special  influences  to  bear  to 
make  a  higher  choice  easier  or  more  evidently 
better,  but  not  in  such  a  way  as  to  take  away  the 
power  to  make  or  refuse  it.  Probably  if  we  under- 
stood the  reason  for  all  the  limitations  of  God's 
power,  we  should  see  that  even  these  limitations 
were  for  our  best  good,  and  thus  in  accordance 
with  the  fundamental  desire  that  the  best — that  is, 
God's  will — should  be  done.  But  we  shall  pray 
better  as  we  pray  more  intelligently,  and  it  is  well 
for  us  to  understand,  so  far  as  possible,  the  ways  in 
which  God  accomplishes  his  will,  and  to  make  our 
requests  in  harmony  with  these  ways.  Thus  will 
our  requests  be  more  frequently  and  clearly  granted 
and  our  faith  thereby  strengthened. 


HOW  CULTIVATE  THE  BEST  FAITH?      191 

74.  We  should  believe  that  prayer  to  God  has  a 
value  for  us  and  for  the  world  which  could  not  be 
gained  in  any  other  way,  and  should  not  hesitate 
to  ask  God  to  do  anything  which  we  believe  may 
be  according  to  his  will. — If,  as  we  have  seen,  God 
is  ready  to  do  everything  that  is  for  the  highest 
welfare  of  men,  whether  we  pray  to  him  or  not,  and 
knows  the  needs  of  men  without  our  telling  him, 
the  question  naturally  occurs:  Why  should  we 
then  ask  anything  of  God  ?  What  difference  can 
it  make  whether  we  ask  or  not?  We  offer  two 
answers  to  this  question.  In  the  first  place,  we 
may  believe,  although  we  cannot,  perhaps,  be  sure, 
that  a  prayer  which  is  the  expression  of  an  earnest 
desire  may  be  a  real  force  which  is  in  this  way 
placed  at  God's  disposal,  to  accomplish  the  thing 
asked  for.  As  we  know  that  there  are  many  things 
which  God  does  only  through  men — through  the 
influence  of  human  personality — we  may  say  that, 
since  that  is  the  best  way,  therefore  it  is  the  only 
way  in  which  God  could  accomplish  certain  things, 
since  he  must  do  them  in  the  way  he  knows  to  be 
best.  Of  course  if  the  result  of  our  prayer  is  to 
make  us  willing  and  ready  to  go  and  do  the  thing 
we  have  prayed  might  be  done,  our  prayer  has 
enabled  God  to  answer  it  as  he  might  not  otherwise 
have  been  able.  But  we  are  only  beginning  to  find 
out  the  laws  of  thought,  and  it  is  possible  that  an 
earnest  prayer,  even  when  it  makes  no  difference 


192     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

in  what  we  are  able  to  do  toward  its  fulfilment,  may 
yet  be  a  force  which  will  affect  other  minds  far 
away,  in  ways  that  we  do  not  yet  understand,  and 
perhaps  may  never  understand — a  force  thus 
placed  at  God's  disposal  and  which  he  is  able  to  use 
to  accomplish  his  will  as  he  uses  the  forces  of 
Nature. 

But  another  difference  which  prayer  makes  in 
the  situation,  which  we  may  all  be  sure  about,  is 
that  it  may  change  those  who  pray,  and  thus  make 
it  possible  for  God  to  give  to  them  what,  without 
their  prayer,  would  not  be  good  for  them,  and  to  do 
through  them  what,  without  the  preparation  of 
spirit  which  results  from  earnest  desire  and  faithful 
communion  with  God,  he  could  not  do.  It  must 
thus  be  clear  to  every  thoughtful  person  that 
earnest  prayer  for  spiritual  blessings  must  at  least 
result  in  blessing  to  the  one  who  prays,  and  make 
him  more  able  to  help  others.  The  effect  of 
prayer,  then,  is  not  to  change  God,  but  to  change 
the  one  who  prays  so  that  God  can  do  for  him  and 
through  him  what  otherwise  would  not  be  done. 

We  must  say  a  word  in  answer  to  the  question, 
''Is  it  possible  to  think  that  a  God  whose  power  is 
shown  in  and  through  Nature,  and  never  in  opposi- 
tion to,  or  interference  with,  it,  and  whose  action 
always  follows  regular  principles  or  laws,  can 
nevertheless  in  some  way  manipulate  the  forces  of 
Nature  and  of  mind  so  as  to  accomplish  results  in 


HOW  CULTIVATE  THE  BEST  FAITH?      193 

a  personal  rather  than  a  mechanical  way,  and  do 
things  in  answer  to  requests,  which  are  not  merely 
the  psychological  effect  of  the  prayer  upon  the  one 
who  prays,  and  which  yet  would  not  have  occurred 
without  the  prayer  ?"  Our  answer  will  be  twofold. 
First,  we  certainly  cannot  give  a  positive  No  to 
the  question  about  God's  real,  personal  use  of 
physical  nature  to  accompHsh  special  purposes. 
We  may  not  be  able  to  understand  how  he  could  do 
so,  and  yet  there  are  so  many  events  in  physical 
nature  which  have  actually  occurred  after  special 
prayer,  and  which  seemed  most  improbable,  when 
the  prayer  was  offered,  that  it  would  be  difficult 
and  unscientific  to  maintain  positively  that  they 
were  all  mere  coincidences.  And  further,  the  realm 
of  mind  is  so  different  from  that  of  matter  that  it 
seems  still  more  probable  that  God's  thought  may 
act  directly  on  the  minds  of  men,  and  thus  prompt 
them  to  do  things  which  they  otherwise  would  not 
do.  We  should  notice,  on  reflection,  that  a  very 
large  proportion  of  our  prayers  for  things  which 
were  not  primarily  "spiritual  benefits"  might  be 
answered  if  our  prayers  should  result  in  thoughts 
being  put  into  the  minds  of  those  who  otherwise 
would  not  have  them. 

Our  second  answer  to  this  question  is  that  prayer 
would  be  eminently  worth  while,  even  were  its 
results  no  other  than  those  which  we  are  sure  do, 
and  must,  naturally  follow  it,  for  they  are  results 


194     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

of  the  highest  importance  and  could  probably  be 
reached  in  no  other  way. 

Finally,  as  a  volume  could  not  say  all  that 
might  well  be  said  on  this  subject,  we  must  con- 
clude this  discussion  with  the  principle  that  the 
natural  expression  of  faith  in  a  heavenly  Father 
is  prayer,  and  we  should  not  let  our  ignorance  as 
to  how  he  might  be  able  to  grant  requests  hinder 
us  from  making  them,  unless  we  are  quite  sure 
that  from  their  nature  they  are  requests  which 
he  cannot  grant.  The  greatest  blessings  which  we 
can  desire  from  God  are  those  which  strengthen 
and  purify  the  character,  and  these  are  the  ones 
which  we  are  sure  would  be  according  to  his  will, 
and  for  which  we  have  the  clearest  evidence  that 
they  are  given  in  answer  to  prayer. 

75.  We  should  acquire  and  strengthen  the 
thoughts  and  feelings  belonging  to  the  best  faith 
by  the  constant  use  of  the  Bible  and  of  such  other 
literature  as  is  most  helpful  to  this  end. — We  need 
not  here  repeat  what  has  been  said  about  the  value 
and  use  of  the  Bible  in  chapters  ii  and  iii.  But  we 
need  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  already  noticed, 
that,  in  order  to  make  religious  faith  effective  in  life, 
we  must  be  constantly  thinking  of  the  different 
elements  of  our  faith  and  how  they  would  apply  to 
the  various  problems  of  our  life.  For  this  purpose 
experience  shows  us  that  no  other  book  compares 
with  the  Bible  in  value,  for  a  large  part  of  it  is 


HOW  CULTIVATE  THE  BEST  FAITH?      19S 

concerned  with  relating  how  the  highest  faith  has 
determined  life  under  various  circumstances  and 
thus  it  will  suggest  to  the  man  with  an  open  mind 
and  sensitive  heart  how  he  should  apply  his  faith 
to  the  ever-changing  circumstances  of  his  life. 

We  have  no  right,  however,  to  confine  our  time 
to  the  Bible  when  there  are  other  books  which  meet 
needs  not  completely  met  in  the  Bible.  The  most 
direct  message  from  God  to  the  people  of  any  time 
is  that  which  comes  in  the  language  of  that  time 
and  is  appHed  specifically  to  the  conditions  of  that 
time,  and  we  must  hear  God's  voice  just  as  clearly 
in  the  messages  of  the  prophets  of  today  as  in  those 
of  past  centuries. 

76.  We  should  regularly  unite  in  public  worship 
with  some  part  of  the  organized  church,  thus 
recognizing  and  expressing  the  social  nature  of  our 
faith  and  receiving  the  advantages  made  possible 
by  the  common  worship  of  those  who  have  a 
common  faith. — True  religion  involves  recognition 
of  the  fatherhood  of  God  and  the  brotherhood  of  all 
men.  It  is  therefore  very  important  that  this 
principle  of  brotherhood  should  be  recognized  most 
clearly  in  our  worship,  in  which  we  express  our 
highest  thoughts  and  feelings  about  God  and  to 
God.  We  must  take  every  means  of  uniting  the 
law  of  love  to  God  with  that  of  love  to  men  in  order 
to  have  a  complete  religion.  The  expression  of  our 
faith  in,  and  love  for,  God  and  men  should  thus  be 


196     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

made  in  company  with  others  who  have  the  same 
faith  and  love,  that  each  may  be  encouraged  and 
inspired  by  the  sympathy  and  co-operation  of  the 
rest,  and  that  the  unity  of  Christians  which  is 
beheved  in  may  thus  be  visibly  set  forth.  Where 
''two  or  three"  are  met  together  in  the  name  of 
Jesus,  his  spirit  is  present  with  them.  It  is  just  as 
truly  present  where  one  alone  worships  God,  but 
the  presence  of  another  with  the  same  purpose  and 
faith  makes  the  feeling  of  his  presence  stronger. 
Where  it  is  a  struggle  to  hold  a  faith  or  stand  for  a 
principle,  everyone  who  stands  with  me  helps  to 
confirm  my  faith  and  make  my  struggle  for 
righteousness  more  effectual.  We  must  therefore 
regard  the  ''assembling  of  themselves  together"  of 
those  who  have  a  common  faith  and  purpose,  for 
common  worship,  of  very  great  importance  from 
this  standpoint  alone,  even  if  there  were  no  other 
advantage:  that  thus  they  show  themselves  in 
sympathy  with  each  other  and  are  united  in  their 
outward  expression  of  the  thoughts  and  feelings 
which  make  them  one  in  spirit.  In  the  church, 
then,  it  should  be  true  that  ''the  rich  and  the  poor 
meet  together";  that  all  classes  unite  themselves 
in  sympathetic  voicing  of  their  belief  in,  and 
thanksgiving  to,  the  God  who  is  no  respecter  of 
persons. 

Besides  the  great  value  of  the  public  recognition 
of  social  fellowship  with  others,  the  actual  forms 


HOW  CULTIVATE  THE  BEST  FAITH?      197 

and  instruments  of  public  worship  have  great  value 
in  promoting  feelings  of  adoration  and  love  to  God 
and  sympathy  with  men.  The  sound  of  many 
voices  united  in  reading  the  words  of  Scripture 
or  offering  prayer  or  singing  praise,  with  what 
assistance  may  be  added  by  choir  and  organ,  should 
do  much  toward  arousing  our  deepest  and  best 
emotions,  and  affect  us  in  ways  in  which  we  cannot 
be  affected  by  our  private  or  family  worship. 
These  latter  are  of  the  highest  importance,  but  they 
do  not  give  us  all  we  need.  Those  who  have 
charge  of  pubHc  worship  should  do  everything 
possible  to  make  it  inspiring  and  uplifting,  and 
those  who  come  to  enjoy  it  should  also  take  their 
share  in  it,  so  that  the  value  which  should  belong 
to  it  shall  really  be  gained.  We  should  abandon 
the  idea  of  coming  to  church  just  for  the  sake 
of  something  new  or  entertaining  in  either  ser- 
mon or  music.  The  primary  function  of  church 
"services"  is  the  common  expression  of  worship, 
and  this  should  be  at  least  one  of  the  govern- 
ing motives  for  our  regular  attendance  on  them. 
It  would  be  very  easy  for  any  intelligent  man  to 
find  sermons  which  he  might  read  at  home,  which 
will  be  better  than  the  average  to  be  heard  at 
church;  and  in  many  homes,  as  well  as  in  other 
places  outside  the  church,  music  of  a  greater 
artistic  value  may  be  heard  and  rendered  than 
will  be  found  in  most  churches.     But  none  of 


igS     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

these  things  can  take  the  place  of  sincere  public 
worship. 

We  have  spoken  of  the  ''organized"  church. 
This  does  not  refer  to  any  particular  form  of 
organization.  It  should  be  apparent,  however, 
that,  in  order  to  have  regular  and  helpful  gather- 
ings for  public  worship,  some  form  of  organization 
must  and  will  inevitably  arise,  and  the  practical 
question  is  only  how  we  may  find  the  most  helpful 
form  for  such  organization.  All  attempts  to  avoid 
"sectarianism"  and  ''formalism"  by  withdrawing 
from  the  organizations  of  believers  already  in 
existence  result  in  the  arising  of  new  sects  and  new 
forms.  We  have  no  acquaintance  with  any  life 
without  organs — some  real  form  of  organization,  by 
whatever  name  it  may  be  called— and  religious  life 
is  no  exception  to  this  rule.  Without  some  form  of 
organization,  however  loose,  no  men  will  do  any- 
thing together  or  work  in  harmony.  The  problem 
is,  as  we  have  said,  to  find  the  form  of  organization 
which  will  best  suit  the  purpose  in  view,  and  then 
to  have  such  life  within  the  forms  of  organization 
as  will  make  each  organ  do  its  part  in  the  best  way. 

77.  We  should  receive  for  ourselves  and  help  to 
give  to  everyone  else  the  best  possible  instruction 
in  the  principles  of  the  best  religious  faith,  through 
the  organized  church. — It  is  possible  that  the  time 
may  come  again,  as  it  has  been  in  the  past,  when 
there  shall  be  such  a  general  agreement  as  to  the 


HOW  CULTIVATE  THE  BEST  FAITH?      199 

principles  of  the  best  religious  faith,  the  highest 
form  of  religion,  in  given  communities,  that 
instruction  in  the  fundamental  teachings  of  religion 
may  be  given  by  competent  teachers  in  the  common 
schools,  where  the  so-called  secular  branches  of 
knowledge  are  taught.  That  time  is  probably  to  be 
desired,  but  by  no  means  to  be  forced,  and  when  it 
comes,  the  teachers  of  religious  truth  must  not  be 
limited  to  the  expression  of  any  exactly  formulated 
views,  but  must  be  as  free  to  teach  what  they 
beHeve  to  be  the  truth  as  teachers  in  other  depart- 
ments are  to  teach  what  they  believe  to  be  true. 
Doubtless  textbooks  and  "authorities"  will  be 
used,  but  as  guides  and  assistants  rather  than 
ultimate  canons  which  are  not  to  be  questioned  in 
any  way. 

But  until  in  any  given  community  there  shall  be 
practical  unanimity  of  opinion  in  regard  to  the 
general  principles  of  religion  and  the  wisdom  of 
such  teaching  of  all  pupils  together,  the  organized 
church  must  bear  the  responsibiHty  for  specifically 
religious  instruction.  The  foregoing  pages,  we 
hope,  have  made  clear  the  importance  of  having  the 
right  ideas  with  regard  to  God  and  his  relations  to 
man,  and  it  should  be  evident  that  people  will  not 
come  to  these  ideas  spontaneously  and  without 
study  and  instruction.  The  highest  rehgious 
truths  which  we  know  have  come  to  us  as  the 
result  of  thousands  of  years  of  progressive  revela- 


200     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

tion  by  God,  and  study,  meditation,  discussion, 
and  experiment  on  man's  part;  and  it  is  just  as 
important  that  the  valuable  results  of  past  ages  of 
toil  in  the  realm  of  religious  thought  should  be 
preserved  and  handed  down  to  the  future  genera- 
tions, as  that  the  knowledge  of  any  other  sciences 
should  be  thus  preserved  and  transmitted. 

It  is  of  the  first  importance,  then,  that  the 
different  organized  churches  should  each  take  its 
share  in  solving  the  tremendous  problem  of  giving 
to  each  child  proper  instruction  in  the  highest 
subjects,  reHgion  and  morals,  while  the  state 
arranges  for  instruction  in  the  less  important 
branches  in  which  there  is  little  difference  of 
opinion  about  what  should  be  taught. 

The  sermon  in  the  church  should  have  con- 
stantly something  of  the  element  of  instruction  in 
it,  although  its  principal  function  is  inspiration,  the 
confirming  of  faith,  and  the  assisting  of  worship. 
The  Sunday  school  is  at  present  the  best  instrument 
of  instruction  which  the  church  has,  although  it  is 
yet  exceedingly  inadequate  for  its  task  and  needs  to 
be  improved  and  supplemented.  But  the  reaKza- 
tion  of  the  responsibiUty  and  necessity  of  this  work 
must  be  more  general  and  deep  before  it  will  be 
properly  done.  Let  all  Christians  unite  to  see  that 
this  duty  of  instruction  is  fulfilled  in  the  future  as  it 
never  has  been  in  the  past,  as  a  work  of  the  highest 
social  and  religious  importance. 


HOW  CULTIVATE  THE  BEST  FAITH  ?      201 

78.  We  should  take  our  share  in  the  work  of  the 
church  to  promote  the  strongest  love  in  all  men  for 
one  another  and  to  encourage  all  true  forms  of 
social  service. — The  doctrine  of  the  brotherhood 
of  all  men  has  spread  from  the  Christian  church 
into  various  organizations  and  groups  of  society 
not  directly  connected  with  the  church.  This  is  a 
hopeful  sign  of  the  times  and  yet  its  value  may  be 
overestimated.  It  should  be  recognized  that  the 
idea  of  universal  brotherhood  has  no  great  depth 
or  significance  to  it  until  it  has  become  a  funda- 
mental principle  of  life,  or  in  other  words  a  matter 
of  religious  faith.  It  must  be  related  to  the  "world- 
view"  and  applied  so  as  to  determine  the  aims, 
activities,  and  relations  of  life.  When  the  brother- 
hood of  man  is  given  such  a  place  in  life  it  must 
be  one  of  the  two  fundamental  principles  of  the  best 
faith,  and  with  the  other  principle  of  belief  in  the 
fatherhood  of  God  must  yield,  when  it  is  thoroughly 
applied  to  all  the  conditions  of  life,  an  ideal  state  of 
society,  the  ''kingdom  of  God." 

Neither  in  history  nor  in  theory  can  be  found 
a  higher  and  better  way  of  making  the  thought  of 
the  brotherhood  of  man  a  real  and  determining 
element  in  the  organization  of  human  life  than 
by  giving  it  its  place  with  faith  in  the  heavenly 
Father.  The  implanting  of  this  twofold  faith  in 
all  men  is  the  highest  and  fundamental  work  of 
the  church. 


202     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

The  cry  is  common  today  that  we  need 
''practical  religion"  and  that  organizations  for  social 
service,  for  caring  for  the  sick,  ignorant,  poor,  un- 
fortunate, and  delinquent,  and  improving  in  every 
way  the  social  and  political  conditions,  are  showing 
this  practical  religion  far  more  than  the  church  is 
doing.  This  cry  is  a  healthy  reaction  from  the 
idea  that  religion  has  no  concern  for  society  or  for 
the  affairs  of  the  earthly  life,  but  almost  if  not  quite 
exclusively  for  preparing  the  few  who  should  accept 
the  true  religion  for  the  life  beyond  the  grave. 
Nevertheless  this  cry  has  gone  to  the  other  extreme 
and  brought  about  a  dangerous  situation  in  society. 
It  has  forgotten  that  faith  always  goes  before 
practice  and  that  the  life  which  involves  self- 
sacrifice  for  the  good  of  others  will  never  be  lived 
long  without  a  strong  religious  faith  as  its  basis. 
It  has  also  failed  to  realize  that  although  the 
churches  as  organizations  are  not  directly  con- 
ducting the  larger  part  of  these  works  of  "practical 
religion"  they  would  not  be  possible  at  all  with- 
out the  spirit,  the  money,  and  the  labor  of  those 
who  belong  to  the  church  or  at  least  have  grown 
up  under  its  influence.  These  benevolent  enter- 
prises and  works  of  social  improvement  cannot  be 
maintained  without  much  self-sacrifice;  and  it 
ought  to  be  clear  to  everyone,  in  this  age  of  selfish- 
ness, money-loving,  and  pleasure-seeking,  that  the 
spirit  of  self-sacrificing  altruism  will  not  spring  up 


HOW  CULTIVATE  THE  BEST  FAITH?      203 

spontaneously  in  every  breast,  but  must  be  care- 
fully propagated  and  instilled  into  the  life-principles 
of  the  children  and  youth  if  it  is  not  to  die  out,  and 
civilization  perish  in  its  luxury  and  cruel  selfishness. 

It  is,  then,  one  of  the  first  duties  of  every  lover 
of  mankind  to  take  his  share  in  the  work  of  some 
religious  organization  to  educate  the  coming  gen- 
erations and  maintain  so  far  as  possible  the  pres- 
ent generation  in  the  religious  faith  which  shall 
keep  alive  and  make  universal  the  spirit  of  loving 
service  to  humanity,  without  which  that  service 
must  soon  die. 

79.  The  primary  work  of  the  church  as  an 
organization  is  to  maintain  public  worship  and 
education  in  religion  and  morals,  and  it  should 
undertake  to  organize  and  control  particular  forms 
of  social  improvement  and  service  only  when  local 
circumstances  make  this  advisable. — It  has  been 
well  said  that  "sound  administration  is  the  only 
sound  philanthropy:  other  philanthropies  are  only 
plasters  on  sores."  It  seems  almost  certain  that 
when  a  fair  approach  is  made  to  the  best  forms  of 
social  and  political  organization,  carried  out  by, 
and  applied  among,  people  properly  educated  both 
intellectually  and  morally,  there  will  be  very  little 
need  of  the  many  philanthropic  enterprises  which 
are  now  doing  such  a  valuable  and  necessary  work 
for  even  the  most  progressive  and  enlightened 
nations.    When  that  time  shall  come,  the  influence 


204     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

of  the  church  will  be  not  less  but  far  greater  than  it 
is  today.     Its  primary  functions  of  maintaining 
reUgious  worship  and  education  will  be  just  as 
necessary  as  ever,  and  they  will  be  performed  very 
much  more  thoroughly  than  now.     But  that  time  of 
ideal  social  organization  is  a  good  distance  off  still, 
although  it  seems  to  be  approaching  with  very 
hopeful  rapidity;   and  in  the  meanwhile  there  are 
many  works  for  the  promotion  of  social  welfare 
which  must  be  maintained  by  voluntary  effort 
actuated  by  the  Christian  spirit.     Many  churches 
have  done  a  great  deal  to  improve  social  conditions 
in    their    parishes    by    so-called    ''institutional" 
methods.     They    have    estabhshed    gymnasiums, 
baths,  reading-rooms,  employment  agencies,  and 
other   instrumentalities   for   meeting   the   special 
needs  of  the  community,  which  were  not  otherwise 
met.    Aside  from  the  immediate  value  of  these 
things  to  the  community,  they  have  had  this  great 
value,  that  they  promoted  in  the  church  the  feeling 
of  responsibility  for,  and  interest  in,  the  rest  of  the 
community,  and  gave  expression  to  the  love  for 
men  which  belonged  to  the  reUgion;  and  they  also 
proved  to  the  community  that  the  church  was  really 
interested  in  its  highest  welfare,  and  that  its  religion 
was  thus  genuine  and  valuable,  and  so  attracted 
outsiders  into  the  church  and  promoted  the  spirit  of 
unselfishness  in  the  community  as  a  whole.     There 
are  and  doubtless  will  for  many  years  be  many 


HOW  CULTIVATE  THE  BEST  FAITH?       205 

communities  where  such  institutional  methods 
would  be  a  great  blessing  to  both  church  and 
neighborhood,  and  it  is  of  the  first  importance  that 
each  church  shall  feel  its  responsibility  to  express 
its  spirit  of  love,  and  in  every  possible  way  promote 
the  best  physical  and  moral  conditions  in  the  place 
where  its  work  is  carried  on.  Still  the  institutional 
church  should  not  be  regarded  as  the  normal  one. 
If  the  political,  commercial,  industrial,  educational, 
and  sanitary  conditions  are  what  the  state  or  city 
should  make  them,  extreme  needs,  the  provision 
for  which  we  have  been  describing,  should  not  exist, 
and  of  course  there  are  many  places  where  they  do 
not.  And  where  they  do  exist,  they  may  very 
often  be  much  better  met  by  organizations  work- 
ing independently  of  any  particular  church,  but 
supported  by  the  interest,  labor,  and  money  from 
various  churches  rather  than  by  the  efforts  of  the 
churches  individually.  The  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  is  an  institution  for  social  service 
carried  on  by  no  particular  denomination,  and 
generally  no  particular  church  in  a  given  place,  but 
supported  by  the  churches,  and  doing  a  work  which 
in  many  cases  it  would  be  foolish  and  wasteful  for 
the  church  to  try  to  dupHcate.  Movements  for 
temperance,  political  and  social  reform,  etc.,  will 
generally  best  be  carried  on  by  people  in  whom  the 
church  has  implanted  the  highest  moral  principles, 
in  organizations  independent  of  the  church,  where, 


2o6     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

if  it  were  attempted  to  have  such  movements  pro- 
moted by  the  church  itself,  disagreement  and  strife 
would  arise  among  the  church  members,  and  hurt 
its  influence.  The  primary  functions  of  the  church 
should  therefore  always  be  clearly  kept  in  mind: 
to  furnish  the  power,  but  not  necessarily  the 
machinery  for  social  improvement.  And  the 
policy  of  a  given  church  organization  should  be 
determined  by  the  needs  of  the  community,  what 
seems  to  be  the  best  way  of  meeting  those  needs, 
and  the  measure  of  unanimity  with  which  the 
church  could  take  up  a  particular  work  for  the  social 
improvement  of  the  community. 

80.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  the  only  final  authority 
for  the  church,  and  the  form  of  organization  of  the 
church  should  be  such  as  to  promote  the  freest 
response  to  the  guidance  of  God's  Spirit.— We 
have  already  discussed  the  reasons  why  the  Bible 
cannot  be  regarded  as  the  absolute  authority  of 
the  individual  or  the  church.  We  shall  hardly  need 
argument  to  show  that  other  teachings  of  men, 
whether  of  popes  or  councils,  general  assembhes, 
"fathers,"  or  saints,  reformers,  philosophers,  or 
theologians,  cannot  be  regarded  as  of  absolute 
authority  if  the  Bible  cannot,  whether  their  views 
are  formulated  in  creeds,  catechisms,  or  confessions, 
loci,  institutes,  or  decrees.  Neither  can  we  regard 
Christ  as  such  an  infallible  authority,  if  that  means 
that  we  are  to  accept  the  human  and  fallible 


HOW  CULTIVATE  THE  BEST  FAITH?      207 

records  of  his  words  and  deeds  which  have  come 
down  to  us,  as  laws  for  our  conduct  and  faith  which 
are  not  to  be  examined,  tested,  or  questioned.  It 
should  have  become  plain  in  our  study  that  God  is 
continually  revealing  himself  and  his  truth  to  men, 
and  that  each  generation  and  each  man  needs  the 
direct  guidance  of  God  for  itself  and  himself  in 
order  to  have  the  best  faith  and  live  the  highest 
life  in  the  ever- varying  conditions. 

For  each  particular  local  church  organization 
or  congregation,  there  are  two  classes  of  problems 
in  both  of  which  the  church  should  be  guided  by  the 
Spirit  of  God.  The  first  class  includes  questions  as 
to  what  should  be  believed  and  taught,  and  the 
second  as  to  what  should  be  done,  the  forms  of 
worship,  of  organization,  and  of  the  expression  of 
the  spirit  of  Christ  in  the  congregation  and  com- 
munity. With  regard  to  both  classes  of  problems 
there  are  two  principles  which  must  be  most 
carefully  guarded:  the  first,  that  of  order,  which 
would  preserve  what  is  good  and  helpful  in  past 
experience,  and  prevent  arbitrary,  ignorant,  or 
careless  innovation  or  confusion;  and  the  second, 
that  of  free  development  and  adaptation  to  ever- 
varying  and  changing  conditions  and  increasing 
perception  of  truth.  The  former  of  these  prin- 
ciples might  be  called  conservative  and  the  latter 
progressive.  In  the  vast  majority  of  churches, 
particularly  in  the  more  general  forms  of  denomina- 


2o8     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

tional  organization,  the  conservative  principle  is 
often  applied  far  too  extremely,  and  almost  to  the 
exclusion  of  the  principle  of  progress.  The  more 
centralized  and  powerful  the  denominational  con- 
trol is,  the  more  difficult  does  progress  become 
within  the  organization,  so  far  as  that  involves 
change  of  any  sort.  The  Roman  Catholic  church, 
with  its  hierarchy  headed  by  the  bishop  of  Rome, 
is  a  good  illustration  of  this,  but  it  will  probably  be 
found  true  in  all  forms  of  church  organization. 
With  regard  to  the  appHcation  of  these  two 
principles  of  order  and  progress  to  the  expression 
and  teaching  of  the  faith  of  the  church,  we  shall 
speak  more  particularly  in  later  sections,  but  will 
say  here  that  where  the  individual  congregation  is 
a  reasonably  intelligent  one,  the  utmost  freedom 
which  is  at  all  consistent  with  common  fellowship 
and  co-operation  should  be  allowed  to  it  in  both 
the  formulation  and  the  use  of  its  articles  of  faith. 
It  should  have  guidance  from  without  but  not 
compulsion. 

This  same  rule  of  guidance  from  without  but  not 
compulsion  might  well  be  applied  to  the  order  and 
forms  of  worship  and  the  laws  according  to  which 
the  other  activities  of  the  individual  Christian 
congregations  are  carried  on.  Neither  by  rules  or 
commands  imposed  upon  it  from  without  nor  by 
laws  incorporated  in  the  trust  deed  of  the  church 
property  or  its  constitution  should  the  faith  and 


HOW  CULTIVATE  THE  BEST  FAITH?      209 

activity  of  the  local  church  be  so  limited  that  after 
careful  consideration  and  general  agreement  they 
could  not  be  modified  to  suit  changing  needs  and 
fresher  revelation  of  truth — to  embody  the  direc- 
tions of  God's  Spirit  in  its  life. 

81.  The  form  of  organization  of  the  church 
should  be  such  as  to  promote  the  fullest  fellow- 
ship and  most  effective  co-operation  between  the 
different  congregations  and  groups  of  Christian 
people. — There  are  great  advantages  to  be  gained 
by  the  local  congregation  from  the  wider  view  and 
knowledge  and  greater  experience  of  those  outside 
its  immediate  membership,  and  provision  should  be 
made  for  the  fullest  use  of  such  advantages.  The 
assisting  of  weaker  congregations,  establishing  of 
churches  where  they  are  needed,  evangelizing  of 
non-Christian  countries,  and  doing  other  works 
which  belong  to  the  church  but  cannot  be  well 
done  by  the  individual  congregations  as  such,  must 
be  provided  for  by  the  most  effective  possible 
relationship  between  the  congregations. 

No  one  can  say  just  what  the  best  way  of 
combining  the  proper  degree  of  autonomy  of  the 
local  congregation  with  the  most  effective  co- 
operation between  different  congregations  will  be. 
The  Bible  does  not  prescribe  the  polity  of  the 
church,  and  if  it  did  its  prescription  would  not 
necessarily  be  the  word  of  God  to  this  generation. 
The  historical  forms  are  not  necessarily  the  best. 


210     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

A  great  many  abuses  have  come  to  us  through 
history  and  have  existed  alongside  of  real  effective- 
ness in  work  and  advancement  of  civilization  and 
religion.  And  indeed  history  shows  us  the  greatest 
variety  in  the  methods  of  conducting  Christian 
worship  and  work,  all  of  which  were  useful.  We 
must  say  that  inasmuch  as  the  forms  of  civil 
government,  the  social  atmosphere  and  ideals,  the 
conditions  of  society  in  respect  to  education, 
industry,  housing,  and  other  interests  of  life  exist 
in  the  greatest  variety  and  are  constantly  chan- 
ging, the  most  effective  work  of  the  church  for 
humanity  will  require  great  elasticity  and  adapt- 
ability; and  only  experiment  can  determine  what 
forms  of  worship  and  procedure  are  the  best  for 
given  situations.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  among 
the  Protestant  churches  in  English-speaking  coun- 
tries there  has  been  a  marked  movement  on  the 
part  of  those  denominations  having  stronger  cen- 
tral control  toward  greater  freedom  for  the  local 
congregation,  and  on  the  part  of  those  denomi- 
nations where  each  local  congregation  was  the- 
oretically completely  autonomous,  toward  closer 
relations  and  more  effective  supervision  by  the 
larger  organization.  Thus  the  congregational 
churches  (including  Baptist,  Disciples  of  Christ, 
and  other  denominations  having  congregational 
government)  have  been  finding  the  local  congre- 
gations too  independent  and  isolated  for  the  truest 


HOW  CULTIVATE  THE  BEST  FAITH?      21  ] 

fellowship  and  most  effective  co-operation,  and  the 
episcopal  and  presbyterian  churches  have  found 
that  more  freedom  must  be  given  to  the  local 
congregation  to  adapt  itself  to  its  environment  and 
follow  the  guidance  of  the  Spirit,  and  these  different 
forms  of  church  polity  have  been  thus  approaching 
each  other. 

Finally,  it  should  be  said  that  the  strong 
movement  toward  the  reuniting  of  different  sects 
or  denominations  of  Christian  churches,  which  is 
apparent  and  rapidly  growing  at  the  present  time, 
is  one  of  the  most  hopeful  signs  of  the  coming  of  the 
kingdom  of  God.  The  differences  between  their 
behefs  and  methods  are  fast  disappearing  or  at 
least  diminishing  under  the  influence  of  the  higher 
and  truer  ideals,  religious,  moral,  intellectual,  and 
social.  The  loss  to  humanity  arising  from  their 
continued  separation  and  competition  is  incal- 
culable. The  waste  of  effort  and  of  money 
involved,  while  great  and  shameful,  is  probably 
of  much  less  importance  than  the  confusion  of 
thought  and  unsympathetic  attitude  of  heart 
which  this  lack  of  unity  among  those  who  wor- 
ship the  same  God  and  seek  the  same  end 
causes.  We  believe  that  a  careful  and  prayerful 
consideration  of  this  principle  of  the  guidance  of 
the  churches  by  the  Spirit,  and  what  it  involves, 
must  lead  most  directly  to  the  church  unity  which 
is  so  desirable. 


212     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

82.  The  qualifications  for  membership  in  the 
church  should  be  such  as  to  make  it  possible  for 
everyone  who  holds  its  fundamental  faith  in  a 
Christlike  God  and  in  the  life  of  love  to  all  men, 
and  shows  his  faith  by  his  life,  to  enjoy  full 
fellowship  in  its  worship  and  work. — When  we 
consider  the  real  meaning  of  the  term  '' member" 
— a  part  of  a  living  body,  as  an  arm  or  a  limb — we 
realize  that  the  members  of  a  church  must  be  those 
who  are  moved  by  the  Spirit  which  guides  or  should 
guide  the  church,  and  that  all  who  are  under  the 
control  of  the  Spirit  which  rules  the  church  are  thus 
properly  its  members,  and  no  others.  But  we  have 
seen  that  the  various  details  of  the  best  faith  and 
principles  of  activity  which  belong  to  it  are  all 
derivable  from  these  two  fundamental  attitudes  of 
faith  in  a  Christlike  God — in  the  God  who  revealed 
himself  in  Jesus —  and  love  for  all  men.  Those  who 
have  and  show  in  their  lives  this  faith  and  love  are 
united  by  bonds  of  sympathy  and  common  purpose 
of  far  greater  strength  and  significance  than  any  of 
the  customs  or  opinions  which  divide  them,  and 
they  should  learn  to  throw  all  their  energy  into 
the  accomplishment  of  the  great  work  which  their 
faith  gives  to  them,  and  waste  none  of  it  in  per- 
petuating their  differences  by  maintaining  separate 
names  and  organizations. 

It  is  well  for  denominations  and  individual 
congregations  to  formulate  for  themselves  state- 


HOW  CULTIVATE  THE  BEST  FAITH?      213 

ments  of  the  different  articles  of  their  faith,  from 
time  to  time,  when  this  can  be  done  in  the  spirit  of 
love.  Such  confessions  of  faith  or  creeds,  however, 
should  not  be  used  as  tests  in  connection  with  any 
part  of  the  life  of  the  church,  either  of  its  member- 
ship or  its  ministry.  They  should  not  be  regarded 
as  final  in  form  or  absolute  in  value.  The  changes 
in  the  details  of  belief  which  the  history  of  doctrine 
reveals  should  make  every  man  humble  in  his  view 
of  the  degree  to  which  he  has  attained  to  a  perfect 
understanding  of  final  truth,  and  no  one  should  do 
anything  to  hinder  the  people  of  later  times  from 
immediately  applying  such  new  phases  of  the  truth 
as  they  should  discover.  Some  diversity  of  views 
among  thoughtful  people  is  a  thousand  times  more 
likely  to  lead  to  a  real  perception  of  the  truth  than 
a  thorough  conformity,  and  those  whose  lives  are 
governed  by  the  purpose  to  become  Christlike  in 
their  faith  in  God  and  relations  with  men,  are  the 
best  material  for  the  membership  of  any  church,  no 
matter  in  how  many  minor  ways  they  may  differ. 
83.  The  pastors  or  ministers  of  the  church 
should  be  such  as  have,  in  addition  to  the  qualifi- 
cations proper  to  membership,  such  ability  and 
preparation,  intellectual  and  otherwise,  as  shall  best 
fit  them  for  their  special  duties. — It  will  hardly  be 
necessary  to  say  that  the  first  quaHfications  for  the 
ministry  should  be  those  of  Christlike  character. 
While  we  cannot  expect  it  in  perfect  development, 


214     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

there  must  be  present  at  least  the  germs  of  the 
character  of  Jesus  and  something  of  the  ^' fruit  of 
the  spirit,"  and  this  must  be  far  enough  in  its 
growth  to  exclude  the  greater  and  coarser  sins 
that  are  universally  condemned  and  the  presence  of 
which  in  the  life  of  a  religious  leader  must  be  fatal 
to  his  influence. 

It  is  of  very  great  importance  to  the  life  and 
progress  of  the  church  that  its  leaders  shall  be  those 
with  the  peculiar  talents  and  the  special  preparation 
which  shall  best  fit  them  for  their  tasks.  A 
preacher  should  have  some  gift  of  public  utterance, 
naturally,  and  this  should  be  carefully  trained  so  as 
to  enable  him  to  inspire  and  instruct  people  in  the 
best  way,  and  so  that  he  shall  attract  them  to  his 
church  and  they  shall  enjoy  his  sermons.  For  if 
they  do  not  enjoy  them,  they  are  unlikely  to  hear 
them  at  all,  even  if  present  in  the  room.  A  teacher 
must  first  be  thoroughly  instructed  himself  in  the 
truth  which  is  to  be  taught,  the  difficulties  which 
are  likely  to  arise  in  the  minds  of  his  hearers  in  the 
reception  of  the  truth,  the  special  problems  of  the 
day  to  which  the  truth  must  be  applied,  and  he 
must  also  have  something  of  the  gift  as  well  as  the 
training  in  method,  to  impart  his  knowledge  to 
others,  and  help  them  to  make  it  theirs.  And  a 
pastor  must  have  the  personal  graces  which  will 
enable  him  to  sympathize  with  people  of  all  grades 
and  classes,  and  win  their  confidence  and  affection, 


HOW  CULTIVATE  THE  BEST  FAITH?      215 

that  he  may  help  them  in  the  best  way.  The  most 
thorough  possible  preparation  for  the  work  of  the 
ministry  will  not  be  superfluous  even  in  the 
smaller  fields  of  labor,  and  the  entering  upon  the 
regular  ministry  of  the  church  by  those  whose 
preparation  is  very  partial  or  one-sided,  or  lacking 
altogether,  although  they  may  have  a  religious 
fervor  or  a  gift  of  ready  and  interesting  speech  and 
even  a  deep  consecration,  should  be  discouraged. 
In  all  other  lines  of  work,  the  value  and  necessity  of 
thorough  preparation  is  recognized.  It  should  be 
as  fully  recognized  in  the  ministry. 

84.  Ministers  and  candidates  for  the  ministry 
should  not  be  required  to  assent  to  definite, 
detailed  statements  of  doctrine.— It  is  still  a  very 
common  requirement,  although  a  very  dangerous 
and  hurtful  one,  that  ministers  or  candidates  for 
ordination  to  the  ministry  should  declare  their 
belief  in,  and  promise  to  teach  a  body  of,  doctrmes, 
generally  formulated  some  generations  or  even 
centuries  in  the  past  and  stated  in  the  language  of 
discarded  systems  of  thought.  Many  of  the  larger 
denommations  of  Christians  are  today  in  a  very 
humiliating  position  in  this  use  of  their  doctrinal 
standards.  The  best  schools  of  theology  no  longer 
do  or  can  teach  all  the  forms  of  doctrine  embodied 
in  these  confessions  of  the  past,  and  the  best- 
educated  candidates  for  the  ministry  cannot  give 
to    them    their    hearty    and    unqualified    assent. 


2i6     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

Sometimes  they  openly  express  their  dissent  and 
still,  in  spite  of  contrary  rules,  are  ordained  to  the 
ministry.  More  often,  probably,  they  accept  the 
creed  with  ^'mental  reservations"  or  with  interpre- 
tations of  it  which  they  know  to  be  essentially 
different  from  those  intended  by  the  framers  of  the 
creed  and  understood  by  many  of  the  members  of 
the  church. 

There  should  probably  be  an  examination  of 
candidates  for  the  ministry  with  regard  to  their 
faith  as  well  as  character  and  other  qualifications. 
But  this  should  be  conducted  by  those  who  them- 
selves are  the  best  trained  in  the  knowledge  of 
theology,  and  without  requiring  conformity  to  any 
statement  of  doctrine  which  has  been  either 
inherited  from  the  past  or  arranged  so  as  to  con- 
tinue the  traditional  statements  of  belief,  not  be- 
cause they  are  true  but  because  a  departure  from 
them  would  excite  strife  or  opposition  on  the  part 
of  the  conservative  and  uninformed  elements  in 
the  church.  The  church  of  today  needs  to  have  its 
conscience  quickened  with  regard  to  strict  adher- 
ence to  truth— to  have  a  great  deal  higher  desire  to 
find  and  teach  the  truth,  to  accept  what  God  is 
ready  to  teach  her,  than  to  cherish  the  beliefs  which 
have  been  handed  down  by  generations  of  pious 
but  fallible  mortals,  regardless  of  whether  God 
has  shown  to  this  generation  something  truer  and 
better  or  not.     It  is  a  great  deal  better  to  be  right 


HOW  CULTIVATE  THE  BEST  FAITH?      217 

than  "orthodox"  and  to  have  a  teachable  mind 
than  a  fixed  body  of  doctrine,  however  reverend 
from  age  and  sacred  associations. 

85.  The  church  is  the  organization  charged 
with  the  establishment  of  the  kingdom  of  God  on 
earth,  and  it  must  not  rest  until  every  human 
being  has  come  into  that  kingdom  and  voluntarily 
accepted  the  rule  of  the  spirit  of  Christ  for  his  life. — 
Every  organization  which  exists  for  the  funda- 
mental purpose  of  promoting  the  life  of  love  to  one 
personal,  righteous,  loving  God  and  to  all  men  is 
properly  a  part  of  the  church.  Hence  the  church 
is  the  only  organization  or  collection  of  organiza- 
tions which  has  this  work  to  do  for  the  world. 
But  this  work  is  the  greatest  conceivable  work  for 
humanity,  and  everything  else  that  is  good  must  be 
related  to  it  or  molded  according  to  its  principles 
before  the  highest  conditions  of  human  welfare  can 
be  attained.  It  must  furnish  the  spirit  and  energy 
which  shall  make  every  work  for  the  improvement 
of  society  possible  and  actual,  and  this  must  be 
primarily  by  propagating  the  best  faith  and 
illustrating  its  effects  by  the  most  loving  and  help- 
ful life.  The  mission  of  the  church,  then,  is  to  all 
mankind,  and  it  must  be  satisfied  with  nothing  less 
than  the  salvation  of  every  human  being.  This 
may  not  mean  the  disappearance  from  the  world  of 
all  the  religious  customs  and  great  names  and 
forms  of  faith  which  are  now  considered  as  outside 


2i8     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

of,  or  opposed  to,  Christianity,  but  it  will  mean  the 
expulsion  from  all  forms  of  religion  of  everything 
false,  base,  and  superstitious,  the  readjustment  of 
emphasis  on  the  various  forms  of  religion  so  that 
the  spiritual  and  essential  shall  be  recognized  as 
such  and  the  addition  to  any  existing  form  of 
rehgion  of  that  which  it  lacks  in  order  to  meet  the 
deepest  needs  of  men  and  which  may  be  found  in 
other  forms  of  religion.  Whether  this  can  be  done 
without  putting  Jesus  into  the  center  of  all  religion 
as  it  is  in  Christianity,  we  cannot  say  for  the 
coming  millenniums,  but  we  can  at  present  imagine 
nothing  else  that  would  in  any  degree  be  a  satis- 
factory substitute.  This  must  mean  finally,  per- 
haps many  centuries  hence,  perhaps  sooner  than 
we  have  faith  to  hope,  that  men  everywhere  will 
come  to  agree  on  the  most  important  elements  of 
faith  and  principles  of  life,  and,  under  whatever 
name  or  form,  to  worship  the  God  and  Father  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  receive  from  his  Spirit 
and  hold  toward  him  that  which  shall  truly  be  the 
best  faith  showing  itself  in  the  Christlike  life. 


APPENDICES 


APPENDIX  I 
BOOKS  FOR  REFERENCE 

BIBLES 

For  general  purposes  it  is  very  desirable  that  the 
student  should  have  the  Bible  in  the  Revised  Version. 
The  marginal  references  will  often  be  found  very  useful  in 
finding  other  passages  bearing  on  the  same  topics. 

BIBLE  DICTIONARIES 

Every  student  of  Christianity  should  have  access  to, 
and  if  possible  own,  a  good  modern  Bible  dictionary. 
Well-equipped  public  or  college  libraries  should  have 
Hastings'  Bible  Dictionary  in  five  volumes,  published  by 
T.  &  T.  Clark,  Edinburgh,  and  Scribner,  New  York.  For 
students,  a  good  one-volume  dictionary  will  supply  the 
most  important  needs.  A  Standard  Bible  Dictionary  by 
Jacobus,  Funk  &  Wagnalls,  and  Hastings'  one-volume 
Bible  Dictionary  by  the  same  editor  and  publishers  as  the 
larger  one,  the  articles,  however,  being  much  briefer  and  by 
different  authors  from  those  writing  for  the  larger  one,  are 
both  good. 

CONCORDANCE 

A  good  and  complete  concordance  is  a  necessity  in 
proper  study  of  the  Bible.  Two  good  English  concordances 
are  Cruden's  and  Young's.  The  latter  is  more  useful  for  the 
scholar  and  should  be  in  institutional  libraries.  Cruden's  is 
cheaper  and  may  be  sufficient  for  private  libraries. 

Nave's  Topical  Bible,  printed  by  Eaton  &  Mains,  is 
better  than  any  concordance  in  showing  the  Bible  texts 
bearing  on  a  given  topic,  as,  to  a  large  extent,  the  passages 
bearing  on  a  given  subject  are  printed  in  full. 


222     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

SCIENCE 

Sir  Oliver  Lodge's  The  Substance  of  Faith,  Harper,  New 
York,  gives  a  very  helpful  view  of  Christian  Doctrine  from 
the  standpoint  of  an  eminent  scientist. 

THEOLOGY 

Two  very  good  books  for  a  deeper  knowledge  of  Chris- 
tian doctrine  in  more  technical  form  for  Christians  of  today 
are  Clarke's  An  Outline  of  Christian  Theology,  and  Brown's 
Christian  Theology  in  Outline,  both  published  by  Scribner. 
The  latter  is  especially  complete  as  a  presentation  of 
Christian  teaching  as  it  was  developed  and  maintained  in  the 
past  and  modified  by  historical  forces  down  to  the  present, 
showing  the  relation  of  present  to  past  views  of  Christianity. 
A  teacher  using  this  textbook  in  a  group  would  do  well  to 
make  frequent  use  of  one  or  both  of  these  more  technical 
books  to  supplement  his  own  knowledge  and  develop  his 
thought. 

OTHER  RELIGIONS 

Some  knowledge  of  other  religions  is  necessary  for 
the  intelligent  defender  of  Christianity  today.  For  this 
purpose  Menzie's  History  of  Religion  (Scribner)  is  a  very 
useful  handbook.  Another  book  of  quite  unique  value, 
which  gives  a  view  only  of  the  principal  present-day  rivals 
of  Christianity,  Mohammedanism,  Buddhism,  Hinduism, 
and  Confucianism,  particularly  in  their  present  forms, 
and  with  a  description  of  their  results  in  social  life  is 
The  Light  of  the  World,  by  Robert  E.  Speer.  It  is  written 
with  the  missionary  interest  predominant  and  is  readily 
obtainable  where  missionary  books  are  sold. 

OTHER  BOOKS 

References  to  other  books  are  given  in  the  following 
notes,  and  an  extensive  bibliography  will  be  found  in 
Brown's  book  above  referred  to. 


APPENDIX  II 

NOTES,  REFERENCES,  AND  QUESTIONS 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  TEACHING 

It  is  Strongly  recommended  that  where  this  book  is  used 
as  a  class  textbook  the  students  be  required  to  look  up  at 
least  the  Bible  references  given  in  the  following  notes  and 
copy  into  notebooks  enough  of  each  passage  so  that  its 
significance  and  bearing  on  the  subject  will  readily  be 
recalled.  The  student  should  also  explain  in  his  notes  how 
the  Bible  passage  bears  on  the  topic  under  discussion,  and, 
if  there  is  any  question  as  to  its  meaning,  what  interpretation 
seems  the  most  reasonable.  He  should  be  encouraged  to 
find  other  Bible  passages  bearing  on  the  subject  and  report 
them  in  his  notebook,  whether  they  seem  to  confirm  the 
positions  taken  in  this  textbook  or  to  oppose  them.  For 
this  purpose  a  good  concordance  and  topical  Bible  will  be 
found  of  great  value. 

The  questions  and  topics  for  further  consideration  may 
be  used  for  essays,  for  reports  assigned  to  different  class 
members,  for  expansion  in  the  notebooks,  and  for  class 
discussion. 

For  convenience,  the  notes  are  divided  into  chapters 
and  sections  corresponding  to  the  foregoing  text. 

CHAPTER  I 

I.  Compare  with  definition  of  religion  here  given, 
definitions  and  discussions  in  dictionaries,  encyclopedias,  in 
introductory  chapter  of  Menzies,  History  of  Religion,  etc. 

Bible  references:  Acts  17:22-31,  especially  vss.  26-28. 
See  also  references  for  section  2,  and  Luke  10: 25-28. 

223 


2  24     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

For  further  consideration — 

{a)  What  illustrations  can  you  give,  from  Christian 
churches,  of  overemphasis  on  one  of  the  three  phases  of 
religion — emotional,  intellectual,  and  volitional  or  ethical — 
to  the  neglect  of  the  other  two  and  injury  of  life?  (6) 
Describe  cases  of  which  you  know,  of  serious-minded  people 
who  have  been  called  irreligious,  and  show  (i)  why  they 
were  so-called,  and  (ii)  how  they  were  really  religious,  (c) 
Is  real  irreligiousness  anything  more  than  a  failure  to  take 
life  seriously  at  all,  an  absence  of  principle,  purpose,  thought- 
fulness,  a  mere  floating  on  the  currents  from  day  to  day  ? 
{d)  Name  some  of  the  most  important  values  to  individuals 
and  to  society  of  the  best  forms  of  religion  which  you  know. 

2.  The  principles  of  the  harmonious  development  of  the 
individual  life,  the  nature  of  the  summum  bonum,  or  highest 
good,  the  road  to  happiness,  the  relative  value  of  various 
forms  of  individual  satisfaction  and  of  the  relation  of  the 
individual  to  others,  are  considered  in  treatises  on  ethics 
and  cannot  be  discussed  here  at  length,  A  careful  study  of 
ethics  should,  however,  form  a  part  of  the  education  of  every 
intelligent  person. 

Bible  references:  Pss.  i;  15;  37:4,  9  ff.,  91;  Lev. 
26:3  &.;  Deut.  7:12  ff.;  Prov.  3:7-10  and  passim;  Matt. 
5:1-10;  19:27-29;  Mark  10:28-30;  Luke  6:20-26;  I 
Tim.  4:8;  Rom.  14:17;  I  Cor.  10:23,  24;  I  John  3:7; 
Isaiah  1:11-17;  Ezek.,  chap.  18;  Mic.  6:18;  Matt. 
5:48;  7:21;  22:37-40;  25:31-46;  Rom.  2:2-16;  I  Cor., 
chap.  13;  Jas.  1:27;  2:20;  Rev.  21:8.  These  references 
indicate  (i)  the  value  of  religion  for  the  satisfaction  of  the 
individual  in  the  various  phases  of  his  nature,  physical  and 
spiritual,  and  (2)  the  primary  place  of  righteousness  in  true 
religion.  Note  that  the  Book  of  Job  is  concerned  with  the 
question  why  the  righteous  man  sometimes  endures  great 
affliction. 


APPENDIX  II  225 

For  further  consideration — 

(a)  Can  we  expect  the  best  religion  to  enable  every 
individual  who  accepts  it  to  enjoy  complete  satisfaction  in  life, 
in  its  every  aspect,  even  though  it  is  lived  among  people 
many  of  whom  have  not  accepted  that  religion;  or  must  we 
judge  religion  from  the  standpoint  of  the  individual,  more 
from  its  tendency  to  give  satisfaction  and  its  principles  of  life, 
than  from  what  it  actually  accomplishes  in  a  given  case? 
(6)  Is  the  best  way  to  judge  of  the  value  of  a  form  of  religion 
to  consider  its  success  in  helping  those  who  accept  it  toward 
righteousness  ?  {c)  What  forms  of  religion  do  you  know  which 
have  little  or  no  concern  for  the  promotion  of  righteousness, 
for  the  sake  of  society,  but  are  concerned  only  with  the  gain- 
ing of  individual  satisfaction  in  one  or  more  forms  ? 

3.  On  Buddhism  and  Mohammedanism,  compare  works 
of  Menzies  and  Speer  referred  to  in  Appendix  I.     The  social 
conditions  resulting  from  these  religions,  as  described  by 
Speer,  are  peculiarly  significant. 
For  further  consideration — 

(a)  Read  what  you  can  from  the  Koran  (in  English 
translation)  and  compare  it,  or  descriptions  of  it  in  other 
books,  with  the  Bible.  (6)  Compare  the  most  famous 
teachings  of  Gautama  (the  Buddha)  with  those  of  Christ, 
(c)  What  evils  in  social  conditions  have  been  approved  by 
the  church  (Christian),  or  considerable  portions  of  it,  in  the 
past,  and  what  are  still  tolerated  by  it  ?  {d)  What  is  there 
in  the  form  of  worship,  faith,  or  government  of  Christian 
churches  which  tends  to  maintain  some  of  these  unrighteous 
social  conditions  ? 

5.  In  looking  up  the  references  to  show  the  nature  of  the 
teaching  of  Jesus,  as  well  as  in  any  study  of  the  four  gospels, 
it  will  be  well  to  have  in  mind  the  following  points.  Many 
references  to  Matthew  have  duplicate  or  parallel  passages 
in  the  other  gospels.    In  order  readily  to  see  the  parallel 


226     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

passages  of  the  Gospels,  it  is  very  desirable  to  have  a 
"Harmony  of  the  Gospels"  such  as  that  of  Stevens  and 
Burton,  published  by  the  Association  Press.  The  Gospels 
give  us  the  accounts  of  the  words  of  Jesus  as  they  were 
remembered  by  those  who  had  heard  them  or  reports  of 
them,  and  recorded  a  number  of  years  after  Jesus  was  gone 
from  the  earth.  The  words  recorded  are  doubtless  some  of 
those  which  were  most  impressive  and  regarded  by  those 
who  heard  them  as  most  significant  and  characteristic  of  his 
teaching.  They  were  not  fully  understood  by  his  disciples, 
still  less,  probably,  by  others  to  whom  they  were  repeated; 
and  thus  doubtless  they  have  been  imperfectly  and  incor- 
rectly reported  in  some  cases,  in  the  Gospels  as  we  have 
them.  The  Fourth  Gospel  was  written  much  later  than  the 
others  and  probably  represents  the  spirit  of  Jesus  and  the 
effect  which  his  life  had  upon  the  thought  of  his  disciples  and 
the  early  church  more  vividly,  while  reproducing  his  actual 
words  less  accurately  than  the  other  gospels. 

Bible  references:  Matt.  5:1-12;  6:25-34;  11:2-6, 
16-19,  28,  29;  Luke  5-29-35;  John  4:14;  5:26;  5:40; 
6:35,48;  10:10.  See  also  some  of  the  references  for  sec- 
tion 2.    For  works  of  bodily  healing  see  the  Gospels  passim, 

6.  Bible  references:  Matt.  5:38-48;  7:1,  2,  12,  16-20; 
Luke  6:38;  John  13:35;  Rom.  13:8-10;  I  Cor.  6:9,  10; 
Gal.  5:19-23;  Matt.  3:15;  4:17;  chaps.  5  to  7,  especially 
7:15-23;  9:2;  10:34-38;  15:17-20;  18:7-9;  19:16-21; 
20:25-28;  25:31-46,  and  passages  about  kingdom  of 
Heaven  or  kingdom  of  God  in  the  Gospels,  and  passages 
about  "life"  or  "eternal  life"  in  John,  for  which  see  con- 
cordance. 
For  further  consideration — 

(a)  Would  a  man  be  justified  in  obeying  any  God  whose 
commands  were  not  perfectly  righteous?  (b)  If  I  did 
something  in  (supposed)  response  to  a  command  of  God 


APPENDIX  II  227 

which  I  knew  would  injure  my  neighbor,  could  it  be  from 
any  motive  other  than  a  selfish  one,  i.e.,  to  gain  the  approval 
of  God  with  its  advantage  for  myself  at  the  expense  of  my 
neighbor?  And  if  not,  must  I  not  hold  it  to  be  wrong, 
whatever  assurance  I  think  I  have  that  it  is  God's  com- 
mand ?  (c)  Is  it  a  safe  principle  to  assume  that  what  is 
plainly  right  to  my  conscience  is  God's  command  to  me, 
whatever  others  may  think?  (Cf.  sections  23  and  44.) 
(d)  Was  the  kingdom  of  Heaven  which  Jesus  preached 
something  to  come  after  earthly  life  or  in  it  ?  (What  shall 
we  think  about  the  prayer  Jesus  taught — "Thy  Kingdom 
come,  thy  will  be  done  on  earth"  etc.  ?)  {e)  Did  Jesus  say 
anything  about  hell  except  in  connection  with  warnings 
against  evil  life  on  earth?  Did  he  suggest  any  way  of 
escape  from  hell  except  through  the  avoidance  of  the  evil 
life  on  earth  ?  (/)  In  John  the  mission  of  Jesus  is  repre- 
sented as  being  mainly  to  give  eternal  life  to  men.  Is  it 
something  to  begin  after  death  or  to  enjoy  while  alive  on 
earth  ?  {g)  Some  have  thought  that  Jesus'  principal  work 
was  to  get  men  to  believe  that  he  was  the  Messiah  or  the 
Son  of  God,  and  that  the  evidence  for  these  "claims"  of 
Jesus  was  to  be  found  in  his  miracles.  Did  Jesus  generally 
encourage  or  discourage  the  attributing  to  him  of  the  title 
Messiah,  the  attempt  to  make  him  king,  or  to  consider  him 
what  the  people  thought  the  Messiah  would  be?  (See 
Mark  9:33-37;  8:26,  30.)  {h)  Did  Jesus  seek  oppor- 
tunity to  work  miracles  or  avoid  it?  When  asked  for 
miracles  to  prove  his  authority,  what  was  his  answer? 
(See  Matt.  12:38-40;  Mark  8:11,  12.)  {k)  Were  the 
miracles  mainly  works  of  love  and  mercy  and  thus  the  signs 
of  divme  character;  or  works  of  power,  and  signs  of  peculiar 
authority  and  title?  The  author  of  the  Fourth  Gospel 
speaks  of  them  as  signs.  Of  what  were  they  signs  ?  Does 
Jesus  speak  of  them  as  signs  ? 


228     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

7.  In  studying  the  teaching  of  Jesus  with  reference  to 
tradition,  the  Scriptures,  etc.,  as  well  as  in  other  matters, 
we  must  be  careful  not  to  take  literally  what  he  did  not  mean 
literally.     See  notes  on  section  23. 

Bible  references:  Matt.  5:21,  22,  27,  28,  31-34,  38,  39> 
43,  44.     Cf.  with  these  passages  Deut.  24:  i,  3;  Lev.  19:12, 
18;  Num.  30:2;  Exod.  21:24.     See  further  Matt.  12:1-14; 
Mark  7:1-23;  Matt.  15:1-20;   19:3-9;    21:23-32. 
For  further  consideration — 

{a)  \Vhat  evils  are  today  sometimes  defended  on  the 
ground  of  Bible  passages  or  religious  tradition  ?  {h)  Show 
how  Jesus'  rejection  of,  or  opposition  to,  religious  custom 
and  tradition  was  one  of  the  principal  causes  of  his 
crucifixion. 

8.  A  book  of  great  interest  and  value  on  the  subject  of 
the  conflict  of  tradition  with  truth  in  religion  and  especially 
in  Christianity  is  Religions  of  Authority  and  the  Religion  of 
the  Spirit,  by  Auguste  Sabatier  (London:  Hodder  & 
Stoughton;  New  York:  Doran). 

For  further  consideration — 

Compare  the  value  of  the  character  of  Christ  as  a 
religious  ideal  with  that  of  other  founders  of  religion  or 
leaders  of  sects  making  claim  to  special  supernatural 
authority,  etc.,  as  Buddha,  Confucius,  Mohammed,  Joseph 
Smith,  Mrs.  Eddy,  Dowie,  Elijah  Sanford. 

9.  Cf.  also  section  16  and  chap,  iii,  and  first  part  of 
Tennyson's  "In  Memoriam." 

Bible  references:  John  1:18;  Rom.  8:24,  25;  I  Cor. 
2:9;  12:4,  8,  9;  II  Cor.  5:7;  Heb.  1:1;  I  Pet.  1:7,  8. 
Note  that  where  faith  is  enjoined  or  referred  to  in  the  Bible, 
it  is  concerned  with  things  which  could  not  be  known 
through  the  senses. 

In  these  sections  a  necessary  technical  distinction  is 
made  between  faith  and  knowledge.     We  must  not  expect 


APPENDIX  II  229 

this  distinction,  which  concerns  primarily  the  technical  use 
of  these  words  for  the  denoting  of  two  different  ways  of 
coming  to  opinions,  to  be  generally  recognized  in  religious 
literature,  for  example,  in  the  Bible. 

10.  Bible  references:  On  the  relation  of  religion  to  this 
presentlife:  Job  42:10-17;  Ps.  34:9,  10;  Ps.  121  and  many 
references  under  section  2;   on  truthfulness  in  describing 
experience:  Isa.  5 :  20;  I  Pet.  3:15. 
For  further  consideration — 

{a)  What  apparently  mutually  contradictory  beliefs  do 
you  know  to  be  held  by  the  same  people  ?  (h)  What  beliefs 
do  you  know  to  be  taught  in  the  name  of  religion  which 
seem  to  contradict  common  human  experience  ?  (c)  What 
things  do  you  know  to  have  been  taught  as  the  will  or 
revelation  of  God  which  were  quite  inconsistent  and  irrecon- 
cilable with  qualities  which  you  were  taught  belonged  to 
the  character  of  God  ?  {d)  How  may  Tennyson's  words 
be  true  that 

There's  more  true  faith  in  honest  doubt. 
Believe  me,  than  in  half  the  creeds! 

(e)  Is  it  really  possible  for  a  man  to  believe  two  statements 
to  be  true  which  he  sees  are  absolutely  contradictory  to 
each  other  ? 

II. 
For  further  consideration — 

{a)  In  what  other  departments  of  thought  and  life 
besides  religion  is  the  tendency  noticeable  among  mature 
persons  to  preserve  old  views  unchanged  when  better  ones 
are  offered  ?  {h)  Why  should  this  conservative  tendency  be 
stronger  in  distinctively  religions  thought  than  in  other 
departments  of  thought  ?  {c)  What  cases  do  you  know  of 
people  abandoning  Christianity  for  some  fad  religion,  and 
how  can  you  explain  this  action  ?  Is  this  any  real  argument 
against  true  Christianity  ? 


230     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

12.  Bible  references:    Matt.  7:15-20  and  Heb.,  chap. 
II.    See  also  references  under  section  2  and  note  the  require- 
ment and  use  of  faith  in  the  healing  works  of  Jesus  and  the 
apostles. 
For  further  consideration — 

(a)  Illustrate  the  possibility  of  different  rational  con- 
clusions from  the  same  facts,  by  cases  of  different  conclusions 
as  to  the  character  of  a  person  arrived  at  by  different 
interpretations  of  the  same  actions,  and  in  any  other  ways 
you  can.  {h)  Illustrate  the  different  views  of  the  world,  or 
of  a  part  of  experience,  caused  by  differences  in  mood  or  in 
health  or  in  temporary  circumstances  of  a  given  person. 
(c)  What  factors  would  you  suggest  in  explanation  of  the 
recent  statement  of  Judge  Lewis  L.  Fawcett  of  Brooklyn, 
N.Y.:  ''Approximately  2,700  cases  have  been  brought 
before  me  in  my  five  and  a  half  years  of  service  on  the 
bench.  During  all  this  time  I  have  never  had  to  try  a  man 
who  was,  at  the  time  of  the  alleged  offense,  or  ever  had 
been,  an  active  member  of  the  church"  ?  {d)  Point  out  the 
different  tendencies  for  the  interpretation  of  the  universe 
and  the  determination  of  life  of  those  who  hold  as  the  most 
significant  phenomena  in  experience  each  one  of  the  follow- 
ing and  subordinate  the  rest:  pleasure,  beauty,  thought, 
matter,  conscience  and  moral  relations. 

13.  Bible  references:  Gen.  1:26,  27;  2:7;  Ps.  139:1-5, 
17,18;  John  1:1-4,  9;  5:30;  7:17,26,27;  Luke  12:54-57; 
Gal.  5:22,  23.  Note  in  regard  to  Matt.  21 :  23-32  that  the 
reason  for  Jesus'  question  with  regard  to  the  baptism  of 
John  and  refusal  to  answer  the  question  as  to  his  own 
authority  was  that  in  both  cases  the  appeal  was  to  the 
conscience.  If  they  had  recognized  John's  baptism  as  from 
heaven  because  the  Spirit  of  God  within  them,  speaking 
through  their  consciences,  approved  it,  they  would  have 
recognized  Jesus'  authority  even  more  quickly. 


APPENDIX  II 


231 


CHAPTER   II 

14  and  15.  In  reference  to  the  date  and  authorship  of 
the  different  books  of  the  Bible  and  the  history  of  the 
formation  of  the  "canon"  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments, 
see  articles  in  modern  Bible  dictionaries  on  the  separate 
books,  and  on  Old  Testament  Canon  and  New  Testament 
Canon.  On  the  origin  and  growth  of  the  Old  Testament  see 
the  very  useful,  popular  book  The  Making  of  the  Bible,  by 
A.  E.  Dunning  (Boston:  Pilgrim  Press). 

Bible  references:   I  Kings  18:1-40;   Job  23:3  ff.;    Ps. 
42:1-3;  Isa.  55:8,  9;  Judges  6:36-40;  Gen.  15:12;  28:10- 
17;  Matt.  12:58;   16:1;  John  2:11;  I  John  1:1-4. 
For  further  consideration — 

{a)  What  religious  experiences  do  you  know  people  to 
have  had,  on  the  ground  of  which  they  have  assumed  that 
every  item  of  a  system  of  religious  doctrine  was  absolutely 
true  ?     (6)  What  do  we  know  about  the  causes  of  dreams 
which  would  take  from  them  the  mysterious  or  supernatural 
character  which  has  often  been  attributed  to  them?     (c) 
Should  we  be  more  confident  of  a  message  from  God  in  some 
unusual  or  inexplicable  experience  in  a  dream  or  trance  or 
other  abnormal  psychological  state,  or  in  clear  thoughts  of 
what  was  right  and  good  which  come  when  our  bodies  are 
healthy  and  our  minds  clear  ?     {d)  How  many  books  of  the 
Bible  claim  or  seem  to  claim  to  be  descriptions  of  super- 
natural revelations  made  through  dreams,  trances,  etc.  ? 
{e)  Should  it  lessen  our  admiration  and  love  for  the  Bible 
and  confidence  in  its  truth  to  find  some  of  its  thoughts 
anticipated  or  expressed  in  other  literature  and  in  connection 
with  other  forms  of  religion?     (/)  If  God's  Spirit  is  con- 
stantly active  in  the  world,  and  in  the  past  inspired  men  to 
utter  great  spiritual  and  religious  truths  during  a  period  of 
a  thousand  years,  would  it  seem  natural  or  unnatural,  in  a 
world  of  ever-changing  circumstances  and  ever-new  prob- 


232     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

lems,  for  such  inspiration  to  be  continued  down  to  the 
present  and  future?  (g)  What  phenomena  which  had  no 
really  Christian  characteristics  have  been  looked  upon  as 
special  evidence  of  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in 
recent  times  ? 

1 6.  Bible  references:  Jer.  7:13,  25;  11:7,  etc.;  Mic. 
6:8;  Heb.  1:1,  2;  Gal.  5:22,  23;  Exod.  3:1-12;  Isa.  1:24; 
chap.  6;  Jer.  1:1,  2;  Ezek.  1:3;  2:1 — 3:11;  the  Book  of 
Jonah;  Amos  7:10-17;  Luke  1:1-4;  II  Pet.  1:21  and 
opening  verses  in  Minor  Prophets  and  New  Testament 
epistles,  indicating  consciousness  that  speakers  or  writers 
are  messengers  of  God. 
For  further  consideration — 

{a)  Is  there  any  more  reason  for  expecting  a  priori  (that 
is,  before  examining  the  facts  to  see  what  is  actually  the 
case)  that  God  would  give  to  men  a  written  revelation  of  his 
nature  and  will,  perfect  in  every  way,  than  that  he  would 
preserve  such  revelation  perfect  in  its  text,  and  guarantee 
the  perfection  of  translations  of  it  and  interpretations  of  it 
by  religious  teachers,  or  that  he  should  give  to  every  man 
perfect  eyes,  perfect  hearing,  and  a  mind  which  should 
understand  perfectly  every  truth  presented  to  it  ?  {h)  Of 
what  value  is  the  search  for,  and  struggle  to  obtain,  knowledge 
of  various  sorts  in  the  development  of  mind  and  character  ? 
Is  there  a  similar  value  in  the  efort  to  attain  to  the  highest 
religious  truth,  which  perhaps  has  not  yet  been  completely 
attained  by  any  human  being  ?  (c)  What  is  the  significance 
of  the  "laboratory  method"  in  present-day  education? 
Does  it  mean  that  those  who  know  the  truth  leave  the 
ignorant  to  find  it  out  for  themselves  without  any  assistance, 
or  that  they  "reveal"  it  to  the  students  in  the  way  best 
calculated  to  develop  their  mental  powers  and  impress  the 
truth  upon  them  ?  Does  God  use  the  "laboratory  method " 
in  educating  the  race  ? 


APPENDIX  II  233 

17.  Bible  references:  Isa.  35:8;  Matt.  15:14;  23:13, 
16  ff.;  John  7:17. 

19.  Let  the  student,  with  the  help  of  Bible  dictionary 
and  concordance  and  articles  on  Palestine,  geography, 
climate,  etc.,  make  lists,  giving  references  and  at  least  a  part 
of  the  passage  referred  to  of:  (a)  the  various  physio- 
graphical  features  referred  to,  especially  where  the  reference 
is  poetical  or  striking,  as  to  mountain,  sea,  cave,  etc.;  {b) 
the  features  of  air  and  upper  regions,  as  storm,  lightning, 
stars  and  constellations,  etc.;  (c)  the  different  forms  of 
animal  life,  wild  and  tame,  birds,  insects,  etc.;  (d)  the 
dififerent  forms  of  vegetable  life,  flowers,  trees,  grains,  etc.; 
(e)  the  different  kinds  of  minerals,  gold,  silver,  etc.;  (/) 
the  different  occupations  of  men  and  women,  soldier, 
shepherd,  weaver,  etc.;  (g)  the  different  nations,  races, 
countries,  and  cities  of  the  world,  in  so  far  as  they  still  exist 
or  are  known  in  history  outside  of,  as  well  as  in,  the  Bible; 
(A)  the  different  forms  of  building,  shelter,  furniture,  tools 
and  instruments  for  various  purposes;  (k)  references  to 
babies  and  children  and  their  special  interests  and 
occupations. 

20.  Bible  references:  Gen.  28:20;  41:282.;  Lev.  26: 
3-13;  I  Kings  17:1;   18:1. 

For  further  consideration — 

(a)  Which  would  be  the  greater  God,  one  who  was 
interested  in  the  petty  details  of  the  daily  life  and  struggle 
of  each  individual  and  pleased  to  hear  and  answer  prayer 
about  such  matters,  or  one  who  was  not  at  all  concerned 
about  such  things,  but  only  about  the  general  trend  of 
civilization,  or  about  the  honor  paid  to  him  in  religious 
assemblies,  etc.  ?  (b)  Which  man  is  likely  to  have  the  more 
vivid,  constant,  and  effective  faith  in  God,  the  one  who 
prays  only  on  Sundays  when  led  by  the  minister,  or  the  one 
who  maintains  regular  family  and  private  prayer  in  which  he 


234     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

presents  the  personal  petitions  which  embody  his  particular 
needs?  (c)  Let  the  student  make  lists,  as  called  for  in 
notes  on  last  section,  above,  of  references  to  (i)  common 
bodily  needs  and  means  of  their  satisfaction,  varieties  of 
food,  clothing,  etc.,  such  as  bed,  sleep,  bread,  shoes;  (ii) 
diseases,  sicknesses,  means,  instances  and  promises  of 
restoration  to  health,  etc.;  (iii)  desires,  pleasures,  passions, 
etc.,  whose  satisfaction  is  regarded  as  legitimate  under 
proper  conditions,  as  sexual  affection,  friendship,  feasting, 
dancing,  singing,  enjoyment  of  beauty,  etc.;  (iv)  institu- 
tions for  the  promotion  of  justice,  social  welfare,  etc., 
government,  courts,  synagogues,  means  of  education  or 
provision  for  instruction,  worship,  protection,  etc.;  (v) 
some  of  the  most  important  injunctions  for  the  maintenance 
of  law  and  order,  justice,  peace,  etc.,  which  are  still  recog- 
nized as  necessary  moral  laws. 

21.  Those  who  are  familiar  with  the  thought  of  past 
generations  about  the  Bible  will  recognize  the  fact  that  the 
position  taken  in  this  book  differs  in  some  important 
respects  from  the  traditional  one.  The  former  position  was 
that  the  original  texts  of  the  sixty-six  books  which  make  up 
our  Bible  were  written  by  God  himself,  through  the  hands  of 
men  indeed,  but  without  the  slightest  admixture  of  human 
error,  limitation,  or  inaccuracy  of  any  sort,  thus  making  it 
the  "Word  of  God"  in  a  sense  that  no  other  written  docu- 
ment ever  was  or  could  be.  The  argument  in  support  of 
this  position  may  be  briefly  summed  up  in  this  way:  Claims 
are  made  by  various  writers  in  both  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments to  speak  for  God  or  that  which  God  has  said  to  them. 
Jesus  and  the  New  Testament  writers  assume  the  Old 
Testament  to  be  "  God's  Word  "  in  this  peculiar  sense.  The 
writers  of  New  Testament  books,  being  apostles  of  Jesus, 
had  special  divine  authority  and  power  to  write  the  "Word 
of  God,"  which  none  less  closely  related  to  him  could  have, 


APPENDIX  II  235 

and  they  claim  God's  authority  for  their  writings.  The 
divine  authority  of  some  of  the  writers  of  both  Old  and  New 
Testaments  was  confirmed  by  their  power  to  work  miracles. 
Finally,  the  Bible  has  had  in  history  such  power  to  transform 
both  individual  and  social  life  that  it  must  be  a  revelation  of 
God,  and  therefore  all  claims  made  in  it  for  any  part  of  it, 
of  truth  or  authority,  must  be  true,  for  if  they  are  not  true, 
their  authors  were  impostors,  which  is  inconceivable  in  view 
of  the  effect  which  the  Bible  has  had  in  the  world. 

Space  will  permit  only  a  very  brief  comment  on  these 
arguments.  In  the  first  place,  a  careful  study  of  the 
positions  taken  in  this  book  will  show  the  needs  and  reasons 
which  have  led  men  to  think  of  the  Bible  in  this  peculiar 
way,  and  how  in  fact  the  Bible  does  meet  these  needs. 
Thus  it  is  seen  that  there  is  a  true  sense  in  which  the  Bible 
is  the  Word  of  God  or  a  revelation  from  God.  But  the 
study  of  the  Bible  in  recent  times  which  has  been  more 
careful  and  thorough  and  in  the  light  of  more  consistently 
spiritual  principles  than  ever  before,  has  shown  that  the 
human  weaknesses,  errors,  and  limitations  of  its  human 
authors  are  by  no  means  excluded — that  it  is  a  divine 
revelation  of  marvelous  power  in  spite  of  these  human 
elements.  A  few  words  must  therefore  be  said  to  show  that 
the  "claims"  for  divine  authority  in  the  Bible  are  not 
inconsistent  with  this  position. 

The  Old  Testament  books  were  selected  after  a  long 
process  of  testing  and  choosing  of  those  books  which  were 
found  most  helpful  in  the  religious  life  of  the  Jews,  and  they 
were  thus  gradually  separated  from  other  literature,  some 
of  which  would  be  just  as  valuable  for  us  as  some  of  that 
which  was  retained.  They  were  not  selected  by  scientific 
methods,  nor  by  miracle  of  any  sort,  but  by  their  suitability 
to  various  needs  of  the  people,  patriotic,  liturgical,  ethical, 
and  religious.    By  the  time  of  Christ,  on  account  of  the 


236     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

religious  use  and  high  value  of  these  writings,  they  had 
come  to  be  regarded  as  such  an  "infaHible"  perfect  revela- 
tion from  God  as  later  the  whole  Bible  was  thought  to  be. 
This  attitude  is  assumed  by  all  the  New  Testament  writers, 
and,  so  far  as  we  know,  by  Jesus  in  his  public  utterances. 
Centuries  later,  the  literature  of  the  early  church  was  thus 
collected  after  a  similar  process  of  testing  and  sifting,  and 
in  time  was  thought  to  have  the  same  divine  origin  and 
authority  as  that  attributed  to  the  Old  Testament.  An 
impartial  study  of  the  New  Testament  writings  will  show 
that  no  such  claim  is  made  in  them,  i.e.,  that  they  are 
perfect,  without  human  error,  etc.,  as  was  afterward  made 
for  them.  The  most  careful  research  into  the  history  of  the 
books  leaves  the  authorship  of  many  of  them  doubtful,  and 
without  the  authority  which  (without  any  biblical  justifica- 
tion) it  is  assumed  would  belong  peculiarly  to  apostles  of 
Jesus.  Their  value  for  us  then  is  intrinsic,  and  not  due  to 
apostolic  authorship  primarily.  If  we  have  no  guaranty 
against  human  error  in  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament, 
then  their  view  of  the  Old  Testament  cannot  bind  us.  As 
to  the  teachings  of  Jesus,  let  us  remember:  (i)  They  come 
to  us  through  the  medium  of  writers  who  mistakenly  believed 
the  Old  Testament  to  have  a  perfection  which  it  is  now  seen 
it  never  had,  and  who  would  thus  be  likely  to  assume  the 
same  belief  on  the  part  of  Jesus.  (2)  Where  Jesus  is  repre- 
sented as  using  the  Old  Testament  in  his  argument,  the 
truth  of  his  teaching  in  no  case  depends  on  the  perfection 
and  superhuman  authority  of  the  words  of  the  passage 
quoted,  but  is  justified  by  the  reason  and  conscience  apart 
from  them.  (3)  While  Jesus  insisted  that  he  was  come 
to  fulfil  the  "law  and  the  prophets"  (that  is,  the  Old 
Testament  Scriptures),  his  actual  use  of  them  was  quite 
inconsistent  with  the  theory  of  such  absolute  perfection, 
and  was  in  complete  harmony  with  the  principles  of  the 


APPENDIX  II  237 

use  of  the  Bible  presented  in  this  book.  (See  section  7  and 
notes  upon  it.) 

Such  phrases  in  the  Old  Testament  as  "Thus  saith  the 
Lord"  must  be  considered  to  be  formulae  used  by  the 
prophets  and  writers  to  direct  attention  to  the  truth  of  their 
words,  which  they  were  confident  were  from  God,  as  true 
ministers  and  preachers  of  today  must  be  confident  if  they 
would  preach  effectively.  There  is  no  hint  in  any  Old 
Testament  book  that  the  message  from  God  was  thought  to 
be  without  such  limitations  as  would  be  natural  to  its 
proclamation  by  a  fallible  man. 

A  proper  understanding  of  the  real  authority  of  the 
Bible,  proved  by  its  immense  value  in  history,  and  approving 
itself  to  every  honest  individual  who  will  use  it  rightly,  will 
make  it  in  the  future  a  far  more  potent  instrument  in  the 
hands  of  God  for  the  revelation  of  his  will  to  men,  than  it 
has  been  under  the  misunderstandings  of  the  past.  The 
way  to  use  the  Bible  rightly  is  briefly  explained  in  chap.  iii. 

CHAPTER  in 

22.  In  regard  to  creation  and  flood  stories,  see  parallels 
in  Babylonian  myths,  appendices  of  Kent,  Beginnings  of 
Hebrew  History  (Scribner).  For  references  to  sources  in 
compilation  of  history,  see  I  Chron.  29:29;  II  Chron.  9:29; 
12:15;  13:22;  20:34;  32:32;  etc.  For  evidence  of  use  of 
common  sources  in  the  composition  of  the  first  three 
gospels,  called  the  "Synoptists,"  see  any  "Harmony  of  the 
Gospels,"  e.g.,  Stevens  &  Burton's,  or  Kerr's,  the  latter 
published  by  the  American  Tract  Society. 

23.  As  illustrating  the  necessity  of  the  use  of  reason  and 
moral  judgment  in  the  application  of  Bible  teaching,  we  may 
consider  Matt.  5:27-42  and  6:19.  Regarded  as  positive 
rules  for  action,  to  be  literally  obeyed,  they  may  lead,  as 
they  have  done,  to  the  mutilation  of  one's  body,  to  the 


238     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

maintenance  of  marriage  bonds  between  two  people  when 
one  of  them  was  worthless  or  cruel  and  separation  was 
justified  if  not  required  by  the  law  of  God  in  the  heart  and 
reason;  to  the  keeping-apart  of  people  who  would  have  been 
made  happier  and  better  and  of  more  use  in  the  world  if 
they  had  been  married,  to  the  unwise  refusal  to  take  oaths 
in  court  or  oaths  of  loyalty  to  the  government,  to  yielding 
without  resistance  to  the  violence  of  criminals  and  to 
carelessness  in  the  use  of  money,  improvidence,  laziness,  and 
shiftlessness.  And  yet  all  these  teachings  contain  important 
moral  principles,  just  as  valuable  and  necessary  today  as 
ever.  Interpreted  by  the  reason  and  conscience,  these 
passages  teach  that  one  should  avoid  temptation,  even  at 
the  cost  of  painful  sacrifice;  should  regard  marriage  as  a 
relation  entered  into  for  life  and  to  be  maintained  in  love 
and  purity  with  the  utmost  endeavor;  should  speak  the 
truth  so  faithfully  and  constantly  that  no  oath  could  increase 
the  confidence  of  others  in  one's  words;  should  have  love  in 
his  heart  for  everyone,  the  hostile  and  dangerous  as  well  as 
the  friendly,  and  in  the  treatment  of  the  hostile  should  never 
be  actuated  by  desire  for  revenge  but  only  for  the  best  good 
of  the  enemy,  perhaps  the  criminal;  should  not  worry  about 
the  future,  but,  having  done  all  that  circumstances  made 
possible  to  provide  for  it,  should  trust  God's  care,  and  give 
greater  attention  to  the  more  important  side  of  life,  that  of 
character,  than  to  the  matter  of  food  and  clothes. 
For  further  consideration — 

Take  some  chapter  in  Leviticus,  e.g.,  chap.  25,  and 
see:  (a)  what  commands,  there,  may  be  helpfully  applied 
to  present-day  conditions;  (6)  what  moral  principles 
whose  validity  we  recognize  are  involved  in  commands 
not  completely  applicable  to  our  conditions  or  justified 
by  our  conscience;  (c)  what  commands  involve  elements 
of  which  we  today  must  disapprove;    {d)  what  injunc- 


APPENDIX  II  239 

tions  seem  to  involve   no  moral   principle  but  only  an 
economic  one. 

24. 
For  further  consideration — 

Pick  out,  in  the  j5rst  chapters  of  Genesis,  {a)  verses 
giving  teachings  about  God  and  his  relations  to  the  world 
and  men  which  seem  to  be  valuable  elements  of  the  best  faith 
in  their  natural  meaning;  (6)  those  which  have  no  evident 
religious  value  in  themselves  but  would  have  been  interest- 
ing and  natural  explanations  of  conditions  of  the  world, 
man,  and  society  at  a  time  when  they  were  current  and  there 
were  no  better;  {c)  those  which,  taken  in  their  natural 
meanings,  involve  conceptions  of  God  or  nature  no  longer 
possible  to  us. 

25.  Is  there  any  progress  in  the  thought  of  God  between 
(i)  Gen.  6:6,  7;  8:21;  I  Sam.  26:19;  and  (2)  Ps.  139; 
John  4:24;  I  John  4:8? 

26.  The  thesis  of  this  section,  which  may  at  first  appear 
somewhat  complicated,  might  be  stated  thus:  To  use  the 
Bible  as  a  Christian  book,  we  must  find  how  a  Christlike 
God  is  revealed  in  it.  It  is  the  one,  eternal  God  whom  man 
needs  to  find.  Really  to  find  this  God  is  to  find  salvation 
and  eternal  life.  (Cf.  John  17:3,  and  on  the  subject  of  the 
revelation  of  God  in  Jesus,  chap,  vi  and  section  31  in 
chap,  iv.) 

CHAPTER  IV 

27.  Mormonism  is  frankly  tritheistic  or  polytheistic, 
besides  having  degradingly  sensual  conceptions  of  the  gods 
and  their  relations  to  men,  from  which  flow  sensual  con- 
ceptions of  human  life.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  Mormon 
theology  still  and  necessarily  makes  polygamy  a  divine 
principle  of  life  and  therefore  something  to  be  expected  in 
ideal  human  society  (even  though  suspended  for  a  time  in 


240     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

practice,  out  of  respect  for  civil  laws  made  by  their  oppo- 
nents, whether  the  charge  is  true  that  it  is  still  secretly 
fostered  by  the  Mormon  church  or  not). 

Bible  references:  Gen.  i:i;  17:1;  Deut.  6:4;  Matt. 
19:26;  Luke  1:37;  Acts  17:24;  I  Tim.  2:5. 

28.  The  personality  of  God  is  assumed  all  through  the 
Bible.  This  personality  and  its  nature  are  the  fundamental 
and  most  difficult  problems  of  Christian  belief,  but  there  can 
be  no  question  about  the  value  of  belief  in  a  personal  God, 
and  no  faith  can  properly  be  called  Christian  in  which  it  is 
not  central. 

29.  Bible  references:  Gen.,  chap,  i;  Isa.  55:6-9;  Ps. 
102:25-27. 

30  and  31.  Compare,  in  connection  with  these  sec- 
tions, chap,  vi  and  notes  on  section  26.  In  regard  to 
question  as  to  whether  Jesus  ever  actually  lived,  see 
Case,  The  Historicity  of  Jesus  (University  of  Chicago 
Press,  191 2). 

Bible  references:  Exod.  34:6,  7;  Num.  14:18;  Ezek., 
chap.  18;  John  1:1-18;  3:16;  5:19-47;  6:38-40;  8:18, 
19,29,42,49,50,54,55;  10:30,37,38;  12:44,45,49,50; 
13:31,  32;  14:9-11,  23,  24;  15:15,  23,  24;  Rom.  3:21-26; 
I  Cor.  1:24,  30;  II  Cor.  4:6;  5:18-20;  Col.  1:15,  20; 
Heb.  1:3;  I  John  4:8. 

32.  Bible  references:  What  is  the  Holy  Spirit?  Gen. 
1:2;  2:7;  Job 33:4;  Ps.  139:1-5, 17, 18;  John  1:9.  What 
does  God's  Spirit  do  in  and  with  men  ?  Exod.  31:3;  Num. 
27:18;  Judges  14:6;  15:14;  Isa.  11:2;  61:1;  Ezek.  36:7; 
Matt.  10:20;  John  3:5-8;  14:26;  16:7,  8,  13,  14;  Acts 
2:37-39,  41,  42;  I  Cor.  12:7-11;  Matt.  3:16.  How  shall 
we  know  the  presence  and  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  ?  Matt. 
12:24-28,33;  II  Tim.  1:7;  Gal.  5:22,  23;  I  John  4:1,  7,  8. 
Who  may  receive  the  Holy  Spirit  and  how?  Isa.  44:3; 
Joel  2:28,  29;  Luke  11:13;  John  1:9;  Acts  5:32. 


APPENDIX  II 


241 


S^  and  34.  For  arguments  for  the  existence  of  God,  see 
Clarke,  op.  ciL,  pp.  102  ff.,  and  Brown,  op.  cit.,  chap,  ix, 
pp.  124  fif. 

Bible   references:    Matt.    7:17-20;    12:33-35;    Heb., 
chap.  11;  Jas.  2:14-26. 
For  further  consideration — 

(a)  Can  you  suggest  any  different  or  contrary  principle 
which  would  be  more  promotive  of  general  human  welfare  in 
all  its  phases  than  that  of  the  brotherhood  of  Man — the 
duty  of  love  to  all  men  ?  {h)  Can  you  imagine  any  attitude 
toward  the  universe  (i.e.,  any  religion)  that  would  be  more 
in  harmony  with,  and  promotive  of,  this  principle  of  love  to 
men  than  the  belief  in  a  Christlike  God  who  desired  and 
required  Christlike  character  in  all  men  ?  (Cf .  sections  70 
and  76.)  ic)  Compare  the  countries  of  the  world  in  which 
Christianity  prevails  with  those  in  which  other  forms  of 
religion  prevail,  as  to  civilization,  education,  culture, 
commerce,  etc.  {d)  Compare  the  countries  in  which 
Roman  Catholicism  prevails  with  those  in  which  Protestant- 
ism is  strong,  in  the  same  respects,  {e)  What  part  have 
Christian  missions  and  missionaries  played  in  the  develop- 
ment and  improvement  of  India,  China,  Japan,  Africa, 
Turkey  ?  (/)  To  what  extent  can  we  regard  the  existence 
of  evil  social  conditions  in  so-called  Christian  countries  as  a 
failure  of  Christianity  ?  (g)  What  testimonies  to  the  value 
of  Christian  faith  can  you  get  from  the  lives,  words,  and 
deeds  of  famous  statesmen,  rulers,  generals,  authors,  artists, 
musicians,  sailors,  business  men,  etc.  ? 

35.  Bible  references:  Gen.  1:1 — 2:7;  Job,  chaps.  38, 
39,40,41;  Pss.  8;  19:1-6;  24:1,2;  29;  33:6;  74:12-17; 
102:25;  Isa.  40:22;  42:5;  45- 18;  John  1:1,  2;  Acts  17:24. 

36.  Concerning  materialistic  evolution  and  Christianity, 
see  discussion  in  Fairbairn,  Philosophy  oj  the  Christian 
Religion  (Hodder  and  Stoughton). 


242     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

A  theory  of  evolution  differing  much  from  the  familiar 
Darwinian  theory  is  maintained  by  Bergson,  one  of  the 
prominent  philosophers  of  France  at  the  present  time.  His 
Creative  Evolution  (Holt,  191 1)  makes  life  instead  of  matter 
the  first  principle  of  reality  and  the  creative  force  of  the 
world.  Although  his  philosophy  is  very  different  from  the 
faith  of  Christianity,  there  is  much  in  it  which  throws  light 
on  problems  of  creation  and  evolution  which  a  Christian 
might  accept,  and  which  may  compel  a  general  revision  of 
ideas  about  the  process  of  development  of  the  universe. 
For  Bergson,  inert  matter  is  not  eternal,  but  is  the  inversion 
or  interruption  of  life. 
For  further  consideration — 

(a)  Which  is  the  more  reasonable  and  helpful  faith, 
that  God  created  the  various  forms  of  nature  by  some  vocal 
or  mental  fiat — "Let  there  be" — or  that  by  his  wisdom  he 
used  vsLiious  forces  and  means  under  his  control  to  develop 
nature  as  we  know  it  ?  (b)  Is  creation  by  fiat  a  possible 
positive  conception  for  an  educated  person  today,  or  is  it 
merely  of  negative  value  to  express  our  ignorance  of  means 
or  method  ?  (c)  If  the  author  of  Genesis  had  understood 
and  accepted  the  theory  of  evolution,  could  he  have 
explained  it  to  the  people  of  his  time?  Is  it  conceivable 
that  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  was  intended  to  teach 
evolution  ?  (d)  Does  it  in  any  way  detract  from  the  glory 
of  God  to  think  that  many  millions  of  years  were  occupied 
in  the  bringing  of  the  present  cosmos  out  of  an  early  chaos, 
instead  of  six  days  ?  (e)  Is  the  question  as  to  God's  method 
of  creation  one  of  amount  or  degree  of  power  or  of  the  way 
in  which  he  used  the  power  ?  Does  it  belong  to  the  realm  of 
faith  or  knowledge  ? 

37.  For  further  discussion  of  the  providence  of  God,  his 
limitations,  etc.,  see  succeeding  sections  and  sections  71 
to  74. 


APPENDIX  II 


243 


Bible  references:  Gen.  8:1,  21,  22;  Pss.  1:3;  23;  37; 
91;  loi;  121;  Matt.  6:25-34;  Acts  17:25;  Rom.  8:28. 

38.  For  further  discussion  of  the  problem  of  evil,  see  the 
very  interesting  sections  on  that  subject  in  Fairbairn,  op.  cil. 

Bible  references:  Gen.  3: 17-19  (can  "for  thy  sake"  be 
understood  as  meaning  "for  thy  good"?);  Job  5:17-20; 
23:10;  36:15,  16;  Ps.  94:12;  Prov.  3:11,  12;  II  Sam. 
12:1-14;  I  Cor.  15:54-57;  II  Cor.  6:4-10;  11:16,  23-33; 
12:7-10;  Heb.  12:5-13;  Jas.  1:2-4;  IPet.  1:6,  7;  4:12-14. 

39.  For  further  discussion  of  prayer,  see  sections  71  to 
74.  Bergson,  in  the  work  above  referred  to,  rejects  the  idea 
of  the  uniformity  of  nature  as  a  final  principle  of  reality. 
He  finds  life  creating  forms  not  only  new  in  actual  existence, 
but  unforeseeable,  unpredictable,  not  even  pre-existent  in 
thought  or  idea.  His  argument,  which  is  very  plausible, 
may  lead  to  an  abandonment  of  the  too  strict  principle  of 
uniformity  and  make  it  easier  to  conceive  of  God's  free 
action  in  the  universe. 

40.  Cf,  questions  "for  further  consideration"  on 
sections  14  and  15. 

CHAPTER   V 

41.  Bergson  (op.  cit.)  maintains  that  consciousness  in 
man  cannot  be  regarded  as  conditioned  by  the  brain  and 
neural  processes  in  any  such  sense  as  action  in  the  lower 
animals  is  so  conditioned.  The  brain  is  the  "cutting 
edge"  of  consciousness  in  man,  inseparable  from  con- 
sciousness just  as  the  edge  is  inseparable  from  the  knife, 
but  no  more  coextensive  or  parallel  in  the  one  case  than  in 
the  other.  In  man,  as  not  in  the  animals,  consciousness  is 
free  and  the  nervous  system  is  the  serv^ant.  Professor 
William  James  has  made  a  similar  suggestion.  (See  section 
64.)  Cf.  also  Fairbairn  {op.  cit.)  on  evolution  of  man  and 
relation  of  man  to  the  ape,  etc. 


244     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

42.  On  the  subject  of  the  freedom  of  human  conscious- 
ness see  further  Bergson,  Creative  Evolution,  references  in 
index  under  **Man  in  Evolution,"  ''Unforeseeableness," 
"Freedom,"  and  the  general  trend  of  the  whole  book. 

Bible  references:  Josh.  24:15;  I  Kings  18:21;  Ezek., 
chap.  18;  Rom.  8:29,  30;  9:11-28.  It  may  be  questioned 
whether  Paul  would  have  assented  to  any  thoroughgoing 
system  of  determinism,  but  it  is  true  that  in  the  passages  in 
Romans,  here  referred  to,  he  holds  to  an  election  or  pre- 
determination of  human  fate  and  action  which  is  not 
consistent  with  the  belief  in  human  freedom.  It  is  worthy 
of  note,  however,  that  in  Rom.  8 :  29,  30  his  purpose  is  to 
encourage  men  in  the  struggle  for  righteousness,  by  assuring 
them  of  God's  determination  to  justify  and  glorify  those 
whom  he  foreknew  would  accept  of  his  salvation,  rather 
than  to  teach  the  doctrine  of  "predestination,"  and  that  in 
the  next  chapter  the  fate  of  those  who  do  not  accept  God's 
grace  is  really  for  him  a  problem,  to  which  he  can  only  reply 
by  questions  and  exclamations  referring  to  God's  sovereignty 
and  power,  and  what  seem  to  him  the  undeniable  facts  of 
experience. 

43.  Bible  references:  Gen.  6:5-7;  Gen.  18:20,  21,  26, 
etc.;  Exod.  32:7-14.  Are  these  passages  consistent  with 
the  idea  that  God  knows  from  eternity  everything  which  is 
going  to  happen  ?  Notice  that  in  Rom.,  chap.  9,  especially 
vs.  19,  Paul  himself  presents  the  argument  against  the  idea 
of  complete  foreknowledge  and  determinis-m  and  has  no 
logical  answer  to  that  argument. 

44.  Bible  references:  Gen.  2:16,  17;  3:6,  10,  17;  Isa. 
1:19,  20;  Lev.  19:18;  Deut.  6:5;  Mark  12:28-34;  Rom. 
2:12-15;  14:13-23.  especially  vss.  14,  20,  and  23;  I  Cor. 
6:12;  8:4-13;  10:23 — ii:i;  Luke  10:26;  Rom.  13:1-10; 
Gal.  3 :  24. 

45.  Bible    references:     Look    up    marginal    references 


APPENDIX  II  245 

(in  Revised  Version)  to  Matt.  5:22;  and  article  on 
"Gehenna"  in  a  good  Bible  dictionary.  (The  idea  of  the 
fire  of  Gehenna  comes  from  that  of  the  rubbish  fires  of  the 
Valley  of  Hinnom,  and  suggests  the  destruction  of  that 
which  has  become  worthless,  not  the  torturing  of  that 
which  has  life  and  possible  goodness  remaining.)  See 
also  I  Tim.  4:2;  Rom.  1:24-32;  2:8,  9;  II  Pet.,  chaps. 
13,  17;  Rev.  22:11,  12,  15;  Matt.  12:22-37.  Note  that 
the  "unpardonable  sin"  is  the  calling  of  works  of  good- 
ness works  of  evil,  attributing  works  of  God's  Spirit  to  the 
Evil  Spirit.  Such  absolute  failure  of  moral  judgment  could 
be  the  result  only  of  long-practiced  hypocrisy  and  sin,  and 
the  reason  that  the  sin  is  unpardonable  is  that  it  is  not 
realized,  acknowledged,  or  repented  of,  since  the  whole 
moral  nature  has  become  corrupt.  Thus  the  possibility 
of  committing  such  a  sin,  or  reaching  such  a  state,  is  the 
worst  punishment  conceivable. 

46.  On  the  subject  of  this  section  see  also  sections  2 
and  6  and  notes  and  references  belonging  to  them,  and  also 
the  following: 

Bible  references:  Isa.  53:5,  6,  10-12;  Matt.  1:21; 
20:25-28;  Luke  is;  John  1:29;  Acts  13:38,  391  Rom. 
6:4-14;  8:9;  ICor.  ii:i;  Gal.  4:19;  Eph.  4:13-15;  5:12; 
Phil.  3:8-14.  These  passages  call  attention  to  the  work  of 
Christ  to  free  people  from  sin,  the  necessity  of  following 
Christ,  having  his  spirit,  developing  his  character,  etc.  In 
addition  the  following  are  especially  related  to  salvation  as 
involving  the  forgiveness  of  God,  and  fellowship  with  him: 
Deut.  30:19,  20;  Isa.  1:18;  55^6,  7;  Matt.  11:28-30; 
Mark  2:17;  Acts  11:18;  Eph.  2:1,4,  5;  Col.  1:20-23. 

47.  Bible  references:  Ps.  51:13;  Matt.  18:3;  Luke 
22:32;  Acts  3:19;  2:37-42;  16:22-34;  26:9-20;  Jas. 
5:20;  I  John  3:7;  Pss.  5:12;  11:7;  34:15;  37:17;  Isa. 
3:10;    Ezek.   18;    Matt.  9:13;    Gen.   28:16.     Note  the 


246     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

difference  in  location  and  in  direction  of  movement  of  the 
two  sons  in  the  story  Luke  15:11-32. 

48.  Bible  references:  Matt,  18:1-6,  10,  14;  Mark 
10:14,  15. 

49.  Bible  references:  Acts  2:47  (margin  of  Revised 
Version,  "being  saved");  Rom.  7:15-25;  Phil.  3:11-14; 
I  John  3: 2,  3. 

50.  Bible  references:  Isa.  61:1-3;  Rom.  1:16,  17; 
3:21-28;  4:1—5:2;  11:6;  Gal.  2:16;  Eph.  2:1,  4,  5,  8,  9, 
14;  Titus  3: 5-7. 

51.  Bible  references:  Gen.  1:26,  27;  2:7;  Num.  16:22; 
27:16;  Isa.  9:6;  63:16;  64:8;  Ezek.  18:4;  Matt.  5:16,  48; 
6:1,  4,  6,  8,  etc.;  Luke  15:11-32;  John  6:37;  Rom.  9:26. 
(Cf.,  as  apparently  contrary,  Matt.  13:38;  Eph.  2:3;  I 
John  3 :  10.) 

52  and  53.  See  section  38  and  notes  and  references  for 
the  same,  and  the  following: 

Bible  references:  Lev.  24:20;  Deut.  19:16-21;  II 
Sam.  12:13,  14;  Ps.  103:3;  Isa.  1:18;  44:22;  Matt. 
6:14,  15;  Acts  5:31;  13:38;  26:18;  Eph.  1:7;  4:32;  Col. 
1:14;  2:13;  3:13;  Jas.  5:15;  I  John  1:9;  2:12. 

CHAPTER  VI 

55.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  special  purpose  in  the 
Apostles'  Creed  and  the  Te  Deum  of  calling  attention  to  the 
birth  of  Jesus  "of  the  virgin  Mary"  was  not  to  emphasize 
the  virgin  birth  but  the  human  birth  and  thus  the  humanity 
of  Jesus.  So  also  Paul  (whether  referring  to  the  reported 
virgin  birth  or  not),  in  Gal.  4:4,  5,  is  calling  attention  to  the 
humanity  of  Jesus.  The  whole  gospel  picture  of  Jesus  is 
understandable  only  on  the  theory  that  Jesus  was  regarded 
as  a  real  man  by  all  among  whom  he  moved,  whatever  else 
some  of  them  came  to  believe  about  him.  His  death  is 
the  final  incident  in  his  humanity.    The  man  Jesus  died. 


APPENDIX  II  247 

Whatever  value  the  death  of  Jesus  had  for  humanity,  it 
must  have  had  as  the  death  of  a  man.  If  we  think  of  Jesus 
as  being  in  some  way  God  himself,  we  cannot  think  of  him 
as  being  God  in  the  full  meaning  of  the  word,  when  he  died; 
for  the  thought  of  a  dying  God,  although  familiar  in  non- 
Christian  religions,  is  contradictory  to  the  Christian  con- 
ception of  God. 

Bible  references:  Limitations  of  man:  Job  40:4;  Pss. 
103: 14-16;  39:4-6;  Isa.  2:22;  Jer.  17:5;  Human  features  or 
indications  of  human  nature  in  Jesus:  Matt.  4:1-11;  8: 24; 
11:19;  Marki3:32;  15:34;  Luke2:4o,  52;  John4:6;  14:12; 
19:28;  Gal.  4:4,  5;  I  Tim.  2:5;  Heb.  2:18;  4:15;  Relation 
of  uncertainty  of  punishment  to  sin:  Eccl.  8:11. 

56.  Bible  references:  Apart  from  the  passages  about 
Jesus,  which  will  be  considered  later,  the  following  are 
related  to  the  matter  of  this  section:  Man  in  the  image  of 
God  and  living  by  God's  "breath"  ("spirit"):  Gen.  1:26, 
27;  2:7;  Anthropomorphisms,  i.e.,  passages  representing 
God  as  being  or  acting  like  a  man  in  ways  which  we 
cannot  now  accept  as  literally  true  although  they  were 
originally  understood  literally:  Gen.  1:3,  31;  2:2,  8,  21, 
22;  3:8,  21;  6:6,  7;  7:16;  8:21;  9:13-16;  11:7;  Theoph- 
anies  (appearances  of  God)  in  which  God  is  said  to  have 
appeared  in  human  form  (note  that  in  several  of  the  passages 
it  is  related  that  an  "angel"  or  "the  angel  of  Jehovah" 
appeared,  but  that  in  the  course  of  the  story  in  each  case, 
in  at  least  one  place,  the  word  "angel,"  i.e.,  messenger, 
drops  out  and  it  is  said  that  Jehovah  spoke,  or  the  person 
looked  upon  Jehovah,  etc.  This  suggests  the  probability 
that  in  the  earlier  form  of  the  stories,  the  word  "angel" 
did  not  appear,  but  that  it  was  later  inserted  when  it  was 
no  longer  believed  possible  for  a  mortal  to  see  God) :  Gen. 
17:1-3,  22;  18:12,  20-22,  ss;  32:24-29;  Exod.  3:2  ff.; 
32:10,  14,  16;     33-^^,  18-23;  34:5-7;     Judges  6:11-24; 


248     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

13:3-22;  passages  suggesting  superiority  of  God  to  man: 
Pss.  50:21;  104;  Isa.  55:8,  9;  John  1:18;  Jas.  1:17;  I  John 
i:5;4:8. 

57.  As  to  the  general  historical  value  of  the  Gospels,  see 
introductions  to  the  Gospels,  by  best  modern  scholars, 
articles  in  Bible  dictionaries  on  the  New  Testament, 
authenticity.  Canon,  etc.,  and  on  the  "synoptic  problem," 
and  the  separate  gospels. 

58.  Bible  references:  John  8:46;  Heb.  4:15;  Acts 
2:22;  II  Cor.  5:21;  I  Pet.  2:22;  I  John  3: 5. 

59.  On  the  subject  of  this  section  see  also  sections  6,  30, 
and  31  and  references  for  them  in  notes,  and  the  following: 

Bible  references:  Jesus'  opposition  to  sin  shown  in  its 
condemnation  and  forgiveness,  etc.:  Matt.  1:21;  Sermon  on 
the  Mount,  chaps.  5,  6,  and  7;  Matt.  9:1-7;  11:20-24; 
21:12,  13;  23:13-39;  Luke  7:36-50;  chap.  15;  23:34; 
John  1:29;  8:1-11;  8:31-36;  I  John  4:10;  His  love  for 
men:  Matt.  9:35-38;  10:1,7,8;  11:4,5;  11:28-30;  23:37; 
Luke  4:16-21;  6:27,  and  in  general  his  works  of  healing 
for  all  who  came  to  him;  His  suffering  and  death,  its  cause, 
voluntariness,  purpose,  results,  etc.;  Matt.  20:28;  Luke 
9:22-24;  Matt.  26:26-29;  John  10:15-18;  Matt.  26:59; 
27:18,  41,  42;  Luke  23:13-25;  John  11:47-53;  12:10,  19, 
32,  zy,  16:13,  14;  Rom.  5:6-11;  5:19,  21;  I  Cor.  15:3; 
II  Cor.  5:15;  I  Thess.  5:9,  10;  Rev.  1:5;  5:9,  10. 

60.  On  this  section  see  the  New  Testament  references  to 
sections  30  and  31  and  also  the  following: 

Bible  references:  John  8:23,  26-29;  17:3;  Gal.  3:25; 
Eph.  1:17-23;  3:14-19;  Phil.  2:5-11. 

61.  Bible  references:  See  section  5  and  references  and 
the  following:  Matt.  4:18,  19;  8:22;  10:38;  19:21;  John 
8:12;  10:27;  12:26;  13:14-16;  15:1-10;  I  Cor.  ii:i; 
Phil.  3:13,  14;  I  Thess.  1:6;  Heb.  2:18;  4:15;  I  Pet.  2:21; 
Rev.  2 :  10. 


APPENDIX  II  249 

For  further  consideration — 

(a)  What  are  the  principles  according  to  which  we 
should  make  use  of  the  example  of  Jesus  as  a  guide  to  our 
action  ?  Should  we  aim  to  heal  by  suggestion  or  faith,  to 
preach  in  the  open  air,  to  wander  from  place  to  place,  to  be 
poor,  to  die  a  martyr's  death,  to  remain  unmarried,  because 
he  did  ?  What  difference  should  it  make  to  us,  in  our  lives, 
whether  he  was  a  "total  abstainer,"  a  worker  for  political, 
social,  or  industrial  reform,  a  university-educated  man,  a 
believer  in  the  Mosaic  authorship  of  the  Pentateuch,  or  not  ? 
{b)  In  what  ways  is  it  easier  for  a  man  to  live  a  Christlike 
life  today  than  in  the  time  of  Christ  ?  What  has  Christian 
faith  had  to  do  with  the  improvement,  and  what  is  its 
significance  for  the  future  ? 

CHAPTER  VII 

63.  See  note  on  section  45  on  Gehenna. 

64.  On  the  subject  of  this  section  and  some  of  the 
succeeding  ones,  compare  section  41  and  notes,  and  the 
following  books:  Meyer,  Human  Personality  and  Its 
Survival  after  Death  (Longmans  Green  &  Co.,  1907);  James, 
Ingersoll  Lecture  on  Immortality  (Houghton  Mifflin  Co., 
1900);  Brown,  The  Christian  Hope  (Scribner,  1912). 

Bible  references:  Mark  12:18-27;  I  Cor.  15:12-26; 
II  Cor.  5:1-8;  Phil.  1:21-23;  I  Thess.  4:13-18;  Heb. 
6:17-20;  11:13-16;  13:14;  Rev.  2:10. 

65.  With  regard  to  Bible  passages  which  have  been 
used  as  a  basis  for  the  doctrine  that  all  who  fail  to  attain 
salvation  by  believing  certain  things  about  Christ  are  to  be 
eternally  tormented,  the  following  may  be  said.  First,  no 
Old  Testament  passages  bear  on  such  a  doctrine.  The  word 
translated  "hell"  in  the  King  James  Version  in  the  Old 
Testament  is  the  Hebrew  word  "Sheol,"  which  means  the 
place  of  the  dead  or  the  grave,  and  it  was  thought  of  as  a 


250     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

place  of  undesirable  and  shadowy  existence  to  which  all, 
good  and  bad,  went  at  death.  Secondly,  in  the  New 
Testament,  passages  referring  to  punishment  of  wicked  men 
after  death  use  either  the  word  Hades  or  Gehenna,  for 
"hell."  Hades  corresponds  to  the  Hebrew  Sheol,  and 
refers  to  the  place  of  the  dead,  both  good  and  bad.  In  the 
parable  of  the  rich  man  and  Lazarus,  both  are  in  Hades,  but 
the  rich  man  is  in  a  place  of  sufifering,  separated  from  the 
place  of  happiness  where  Lazarus  is,  by  a  great  gulf. 
Nothing  is  said  here  about  eternal  suffering.  In  notes  on 
section  45  we  have  spoken  of  Gehenna  and  its  meaning. 
Expressions  like  those  in  Mark  9:48,  "where  their  worm 
dieth  not,  and  their  fire  is  not  quenched,"  are  far  better 
interpreted  as  referring  to  an  unescapable  process  of  destruc- 
tion than  to  an  unceasing  torture  of  the  indestructible. 
It  is  the  worm  and  the  fire,  and  not  the  life  of  the  sinner 
that  is  spoken  of  as  unending.  Expressions  like  that  in 
Matt.  10:28,  "Fear  him  who  is  able  to  destroy  both  soul 
and  body  in  hell,"  must  be  taken  to  mean  what  they  say. 
To  "destroy"  is  not  to  preserve  indestructible  for  the  sake 
of  tormenting.  A  few  passages,  such  as  Matt.  25:41,  46; 
Jude,  vs.  7 ;  Rev.  14:10,  11;  20 :  10,  seem  to  hold  the  idea  of 
never-ending  suffering  for  the  wicked.  We  must  hold  them 
to  represent  the  thought  of  men  in  a  time  when  the  right- 
eousness and  love  of  God  was  not  so  clearly  realized  as  to 
make  it  inconceivable,  as  it  should  be  for  us  at  this  time. 

66.  Bible  references:  In  regard  to  the  body  after  death, 
see  I  Cor.  15:35-58;  Phil.  3:20-21.  In  regard  to  the  time 
when  this  body  is  given,  or  the  time  of  the  resurrection,  etc., 
see  notes  on  section  68. 

67.  Bible  references:  John  14:2,  3;  Rev.  2:7;  21:1 — 
22:5. 

68.  On  matters  treated  in  this  section  see  articles  in 
Bible  dictionaries  on  Judgment,  Parousia  (second  coming  of 


APPENDIX  II  251 

Christ),  resurrection,  eschatology.  The  expectation  is 
clearly  shown  in  the  New  Testament,  outside  of  the  Book  of 
Revelation,  that  Jesus  would  soon  return  visibly  to  earth,  to 
judge  it  and  establish  his  kingdom.  This  return  was 
looked  for  confidently,  but  in  vain,  by  Paul  and  other 
disciples,  within  their  lifetime.  We  have  good  reason  to 
believe  that  the  teaching  of  Jesus  on  this  subject  was  not 
rightly  understood  and  taught  by  his  disciples.  We  see 
that  God  is  still  establishing  his  kingdom  in  the  same 
spiritual  way  which  Jesus  used  when  he  was  on  the  earth, 
and  constantly  judging  men  and  nations.  We  have  no  good 
reason  to  believe  that  he  will  some  time  abandon  this  way  for 
the  way  of  outward  compulsion  by  supernatural,  physical 
force.  See  Sharman,  The  Teaching  of  Jesus  about  the  Future 
(University  of  Chicago  Press,  1909);  and  the  following: 

Bible  references:  Dan.  7:9-14;  Matt.  10:23;  16:27; 
16:28;  24:3-51;  26:64;  Mark  8: 38 ff.;  13:26;  Luke  21: 27; 
Acts  1 :  11;  I  Cor.  15:23;  IThess.  1:10;  4:16;  II  Thess. 
1:7,10;  2:1,8;  Jas.  5:7f.;  II  Pet.  1:16;  3:4,12;  I  John 
2:28;  Rev.  1:7;  20:11-15;  IICor.5:i-8;  Phil.  1:21-23; 
I  Thess.  4:13-18;  Matt.  10:15;  11:22;  12:36-41;  John 
12:31;  Heb.  9:27;  II  Pet.  2:9;  3:7;  I  John  4:17;  Rom. 
2:16;   14:10;   ICor.  6:2,  3;   II  Tim.  4:1;  I  Pet.  4:5. 

69.  See  last  section  and  notes  and  references,  and 
following  passages  referring  to  the  second  coming  or 
Parousia: 

Bible  References:  Matt.  10:23;  16:28;  24:3-44;  26: 
64;  Mark  8:38  f.;  13:26;  Luke  21:27;  Acts  i:  11;  ICor. 
15:23;  IThess.  1:10;  4:16;  II  Thess.  1:7,10;  2:1,8; 
Jas.  5:75.;  II  Pet.  1:16;  3:4,12;  I  John  2:28;  Rev.  1:7; 
John  21:22. 
For  further  consideration — 

If  Jesus  were  to  reign  over  all  men  and  nations  as  an 
earthly  sovereign,  with  his  capital  at  Jerusalem,  according 


252     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

to  the  thought  of  the  millennium  and  the  early  disciples'  idea 
of  the  messianic  kingdom,  what  problems  as  to  form  and 
method  of  government  would  be  involved  for  our  thought, 
and  in  what  ways  could  we  think  of  such  a  kingdom  as  being 
an  improvement  over  present  methods  of  self-government 
which  the  most  advanced  nations  are  learning  and 
developing  ? 

CHAPTER  VIII 

70.  Bible  references:  Matt.  22:35-40;  25:31-46; 
Luke  10:25-37;  Jas.  2:1,  14-26;  I  John  2:3-6,  9-1 1; 
3:7,  10,  II,  14-18;  4:7,  8,  20,  21. 

71.  Bible  references:  Matt.  6:6-15;  26:41;  Luke 
18:1-14;  John  16:23,  24;  Rom.  12:12;  Eph.  6:18;  Col. 
4:2;  IThess.  5:17;  I  Tim.  2 : 1-3,  8. 

72.  Bible  references:  Matt.  7:7-11;  18:19,20;  21:22; 
Mark  11:24,  25;  Luke  11:5-13;  I  John  5:14-16. 

For  further  consideration — 

(o)  Could  a  person  who  had  true  faith  in  God  (i.e.,  who 
had  the  right  belief  about  the  nature  and  will  of  God)  take 
Matt.  17:20  literally  ^nd  ask  that  a  mountain  be  moved 
from  one  place  to  another  for  the  sake  of  the  marvel  and  the 
showing  of  the  power  of  faith  ?  {h)  In  the  light  of  I  John 
5:14-16  and  other  passages,  how  must  we  understand  the 
apparently  unlimited  promises  like  Matt.  18:19;  21:22  and 
Mark  11:24,  25?  {c)  Should  we  consider  events  which 
surprise  us  on  account  of  their  unusual  character,  improba- 
bility, etc.,  if  they  happen  after  a  prayer  that  some- 
thing should  be  done  which  is  fulfilled  by  these  events, 
as  more  truly  or  more  evidently  answers  to  prayer 
than  events  whose  occurrence  seems  natural,  probable, 
or  explicable? 

73.  Bible  references:  Num.  23:19;  Ps.  119:89-91; 
Mai.  3:6;  II  Tim.  2:13;  Heb.  6:18;  Jao.  1:17;  4:3;  I 
John  3:22. 


APPENDIX  II  253 

74.  Bible  references:  John  14:13,  14;  15:16;  Jas.  1:5-8; 

5:13-18. 

For  further  consideration — 

(a)  What  is  the  right  meaning  of  prayer  "in  the  name 
of  Jesus"  and  what  wrong  ideas  are  often  held  about  prayer 
in  Jesus'  name  ?  {h)  What  are  the  chief  spiritual  blessings 
which  we  may  obtain  through  prayer  ?  {c)  How  would  you 
explain  the  coming  of  these  spiritual  benefits  as  a  result  of 
prayer  by  the  psychological  influence  of  the  prayer  itself 
upon  him  who  prays?  {d)  What  principles  as  to  time, 
manner,  contents  of  prayer,  etc.,  may  be  deduced  from  this 
understanding  of  the  psychological  relation  between  prayer 
and  its  results?  {e)  Is  the  psychological  result  of  prayer 
upon  him  who  prays,  to  be  considered  as  any  the  less  the 
action  of  God  upon  him,  in  answer  to  that  prayer,  because 
we  can  partly  understand  why  these  results  follow  as 
psychological  effects  ?  (/)  Is  there  any  possibility  of  prov- 
ing that  the  results  of  prayer  in  bringing  spiritual  blessings 
to  him  who  prays  are  entirely  the  natural  reflex  action  of  the 
prayer,  or  may  we  reasonably  suppose  that  there  is  also  a 
positive  and  added  spiritual  influence  of  God  upon  the 
suppliant,  which  could  therefore  not  be  obtained  by  any 
other  psychological  exercise  ? 

75.  Bible  references:  Deut.  6:6-9;  Josh.  1:8;  Pss.  1:2; 
19:7-11;  119:9,  IS, etc.;  Prov.  6:20-23;  Isa.  20:21;  55:11; 
John8:3i,32;  Phil.  4:8;  €01.3:16;  II  Tim.  3: 15,  16. 

76.  Bible  references:  Deut.  31:12,  13;  II  Kings  17:36; 
Pss.  5:7;  22:22;  27:4;  35:18;  42:4;  45:11;  48:9;  55:14; 
63:1,2;  84:1-10;  95:6;  96:8,9;  100:1-4;  107:32;  116: 
17;  122:1;  149:1;  Luke  4:8;  Acts2:iff.;  Luke  4:16; 
Heb.  10:25;  Rev.  14:7- 

77.  See  references  for  section  75. 

78.  Bible  references:  John  10:32;  Acts  10:38;  I  Tim. 
2:10;   5:10;   Matt.  25:34-40;  Jas.  2:14-20;  I  Tim.  6:17, 


254     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 

i8;  Titus  3:1,  8,  14;  John  15:8;  Matt.  5:16;  I  Pet.  2:12; 
Jas.  1:25,  27;  I  Tim.  5:25;  Matt.  10:42;  19:21;  Heb. 
10:24;  I  Cor.,  chap.  13;  Luke  10:25-37;  I  John  3:16-23; 
Heb.  13:1-3;  Acts  2:44,  45. 

79.  Bible  references:    Acts  6:2;    Rom.  14:17;    Matt. 

6:31-34. 

80.  Bible  references:  Acts,  chap.  15,  especially  vs.  28; 
I  Cor.  12:4-31;  13:1-13;  and  see  also  sections  23,  25,  and 
32  and  references  in  notes. 

81  and  82.  Bible  references:  John  10:16;  17:11,  21-23; 
Rom.    12:4,   5;     I   Cor.   10:17;    12:5,    12,    13,    26,    27; 
Eph.  4:4-6,  11-16. 
For  further  consideration — 

(a)  What  tests,  if  any,  did  Jesus  require  a  man  to  meet 
that  he  might  become  one  of  his  disciples  ?  {h)  What  con- 
ditions keep  various  denominations  from  uniting  in  one, 
today,  and  how  far  can  these  hindrances  be  regarded  as 
resulting  from  readiness  to  be  led  by  God's  Spirit,  and  how 
far  as  promoting  the  true  interests  of  the  kingdom  of  God  ? 
{c)  What  evils  are  there  in  sectarianism  and  denominational 
rivalry?  {d)  On  what  principles  should  it  be  possible  for 
different  denominations  to  agree  and  unite  into  one  organi- 
zation ? 

83  and  84.  Bible  references:  Matt.  20:25-28;  Acts 
1:8;  II  Cor.  6:3-6;  I  Tim.  3:1-14;  II  Tim.  2:21-25; 
3:14-17;  Titus  1:5-14;  2:7,  8.  Note  that  the  words 
"bishop,"  "deacon,"  and  "elder"  are  used  in  the  New 
Testament  mainly  in  their  original  sense  of  overseer, 
ministrant,  and  older  person,  not  with  the  technical  mean- 
ings and  functions  which  have  been  given  to  them  since, 
in  the  development  of  church  organization. 

85.  Bible  references:  Matt.  4:17;  10:7;  28:19,  20; 
John  12:32;  II  Cor.  5:18,  19;  Rom.  10:14,  ^S* 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Note. — ^The  figures  in  the  following  index  refer  to  pages  of  the  book,  except 
when  preceded  by  the  sign  §,  which  indicates  "section."  The  material  in  the 
appendices  is  not  indexed  except  in  a  few  cases  where  explanations  or  questions 
throw  some  direct  light  upon  the  subject  referred  to.  For  further  use  of  the 
notes,  the  reader  should  find  the  topic  in  the  text  and  then  look  for  the  notes  on 
the  section  in  which  it  is  treated. 


Advent.    See  Second  Advent 
Anthropomorphism,  136,  147, 

148 
Apocalypses,  161,  162,  179 
Asceticism,  4,  12,  15,  52,  151 
Atheism,  i,  3,  7,  n^,  183 
Atonement,    §  59,    i49»    ^S^y 

§61,  §62 

Bergson,  242,  243,  244 
Bible,  17,  18,  23 
—Infallibility  of,  234-37 
—Use  of,  chap,   iii,  77)  §  63, 

§  75,  237,  238  ^^ 
—Value  of,  chap,  n 
Brotherhood  of  man,  195,  201. 

See  also  Love  to  man 
Browning,  Robert,  172 
Buddhism,  i,  6,  7,  22,  52 

Catholicism,  Roman,  20,  46,  47 

Character,  §45,  1^3,  §§46-49, 
123,  §54,  §65,  §66,  172. 
See  also  Righteousness 

Children,  12,  117 

Christ.    See  Jesus 

Christian  Science,  30,  31,  52, 
80,  100 

Christianity,  Defined,  3 

— Progress  in,  10,  21,  22,  §  25, 
§  63.  See  also  Religion, 
Development  in;  and  Prog- 
ress in  religion 

— Supremacy  of,  3,  5,  §  3, 
§4,  §8,  §8s 

Church,  Christian,  71,  142, 
§§  76-79,  §  85,  230 


— Institutional,  §  78,  §  79 
— Membership,  §  82 
— Ministry  of,  213,  §  83,  §  84 
— Organization,  198,  §  80,  §  81 
— Union,  211 
Clairvoyance,  132 
Confucianism,  6 
Confucius,  13,  42 
Conscience,    §  7,    38,    46,    60, 

61,  no,  III 
Conservatism,  16,  17,  S3y  54, 

207,  208 
Conversion,    105,    §  47,    §  48, 

120 
Creation,    56,    59,     §§35-37, 

103,  242 
Creed,  15,  17,  65,  81,  113,  114, 

§54,    §62,    169,    212,    213, 

§  84,  246 

Death,  96,  §64,  §65,  §68 
Depravity,  §  51 
Determinism.    See  Predestina- 
tion 
Devil,  4,  124 
Doubt.    See  Atheism 
Duty,  §  13,  133,  183 

Education    in    religion,    §  77, 

203.  §  79,  214 
Evil,  Physical,  §  38,  §  53 
Evolution,   57,   §36,  92,   103, 

242 

Faith.  §9,  §  lo,  §  13,  §  24,  70, 
83,  ^33,  §34.  91,  94,  95, 
105,  128,  129,  §§  70-72 


257 


258     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 


Fallibility,  Human,  36,  42, 
§22,  67,  68,  99,  140,  15s, 
217,  236,  237 

Forgiveness,  114,  123,  127, 
128,  §  59 

Future  life,  13,  96,  chap,  vn 

Gautama  Buddha,  6,  22 

Genesis,  57,  59 

God,  Existence  of,   27,    §33, 

§  34 
—Fatherhood of,  73>  §  3°,  §  3i, 

§39,  §51,144, 163,195,201 
—Fellowship     with,     73,    98, 

§45,  §46,   §50,   §71.    See 

also  Prayer 
—Foreknowledge  of,  §  43-    See 

also  Will,  Freedom  of 
— Immanence  of,  89,  92 
—Limitations  of,  93,  §  43, 1 75, 

§  73 
—Nature  of,   14,   45,  7i,  73, 

chap,    iv,    §43,    §56,    144, 

§  59,  §  60 
— Omnipotence,    89,    93,  106, 

137,  188 
— Omniscience,  §43,  137 
— Personality     of,     73,     §  28, 

§  56,  144,  193 
-Will    of,    61,    89,   §37,  98, 

99,  107,  108,  112,  §  72,  188, 

190,    194.    See  also  Right- 
eousness 
Gospels,  70,  71,  72,  83,  §57, 

225,  226 

Habit,  §  45 

Health,  Physical.  See  Chris- 
tian Science;  Individual 
satisfaction 

Heaven,  113,  114,  161,  §  67. 
See  also  Future  life 

Hell,  §  63,  §  65,  245,  249,  250 

Heresy.  See  Creed;  Truth  in 
religion;  Atheism 

Hinduism,  6 

History,  §  22,  179 


Holiness.    See  Perfection 
Holy  Spirit,  17,  18,  38,  44,  55, 

§26,    §32,    118,    124,    153, 

167,  §  80 
— Blasphemy  against,  245 
Home,  12 
Hypocrisy,  121,  §  70 

Immortality,  §§  63-67.  See 
also  Death;   Future  life 

Incarnation,  70,  §  60.  See  also 
Jesus,  Person  and  work 

Individual  satisfaction,  §  2,  §  5, 
15,  §11,  §20,  224,  225 

Jesus,  Authority  of,  in  religion, 

§  7,  19,  20,  22, 162, 163, 177, 

206,  218,  230 
—Divinity  of,  §  56,  §  58,  §  59, 

§60 
— Example,  134,  §  61,  249 
— Historical  existence,  82,  83, 

§57 
—Humanity    of,   §  55,   §  57, 

§  58,  §  61,  162,  246 
— Life  and  teaching,  §  5,  §  6, 

§7,  51,  §26,  80,  83,  §55, 

§  57,  §  58,  §  61,  237,  238 
— Person  and  work,  22,  23,  70, 

76,  81,  §31,  113,  114,  115, 

123-125,  chap,  vi 
— Resurrection  of,  142,  155 
John,  Book  of.    See  Gospels 
Judgment,  162,  §  68 
Justification,  35,  §  50 

Kant,  Immanuel,  13,  120,  166 
Kingdom  of  God  or  heaven,  14, 

15,  178,  201,  §85 
Knowledge,    §9,    §33,    §55. 

See  also  Faith 
Koran,  8,  23,  42,  50 

Love,  to  God,   14,   no,   123, 

137,  154,  183 
—to  man  2,  7,  13,  14,  15,  107, 

no,    137,    146,    154,    §  70. 


INDEX 


259 


See  also  Brotherhood  of  man; 
Social  service 
Luther,  Martin,  122 

Man,  Ideal,  §56,   §58,   §59, 

§61 
— Nature  of,  i,  78,  §  41,  §  42, 

§51,  §55,  §64 
Materialism,  2,  103,  §  36.    See 

also  Evolution 
Matter,  88,  89,  102 
Mental  healing.    See  Psycho- 
therapy; Christian  Science 
Messiah,  72,  161 
Millennium,  §  69,  251,  252 
Ministry,  213,  §  83,  §  84 
Miracle,    70,    89,    §39,    §40. 

See  also  Supernatural 
Missions,  §  85 
Mohammedanism,  6,  7,  8,  22, 

23,  52,  54 
Money-making,  2,  135 
Monotheism,  67,  §  27 
Mormonism,  77,  239 
Motives,  18,  74,  §  44,  III,  116, 

123,     126,     176.    See    also 

Character 
Music,  197 
Mystery,  81 

Nature,  Uniformity  of.  See 
Science,  Physical;  and 
Supernatural 

"New  Thought,"    80 

Nirvana,  7 

Obedience.    See  God,  Will  of; 

Righteousness;  Sin 
Optimism,  172,  180 

Pain.    See  Evil,  Physical 

Palestine,  51,  233 

Pantheism,  3,  §  29 

Perfection,  §  49,  §  61,  170 

Pessimism,  7,  177,  178 

Philanthropy.  See  Brother- 
hood of  man;  Social  service; 
Love  to  man 


Polygamy,  8 

Polytheism,  66,  §  27 

Prayer,  27,  79,  98,  §§  71-74 

Predestination,  §  43,  244.  See 
also  Will,  Freedom  of;  God, 
Foreknowledge  of 

Progress  in  religion,  8,  10,  21, 
22,  23,  41,  §25,  §63,  207, 
208 

Protestantism,  20,  47,  86 

Providence,  §  37 

Psychology,  102,  §42,  120, 
121,  164,  243 

Psychotherapy,  100 

Punishment.  See  Sin,  Punish- 
ment of 

Reasonableness.  See  Truth  of 
religion 

Regeneration,  118,  125.  See 
also  Conversion;  Salvation 

Religion,  Atheistic.  See  Athe- 
ism 

— Definition,  §  i,  §  2,  32 

— Development  in,  8,  §4,  21, 
36,  37,  64,  §25,  73.  See 
also  Progress  in  religion 

— False,  4 

— Final,  9,  §  8 

— Historical,  §  3,  §  4,  §  8 

—Ideal,  3,  §  2,  §  8,  32 

— Local,  50 

—Practicality  of,  §  20,  233, 
234.  See  also  Individual 
satisfaction;  Religion,  Social 

—Social,  §2,  §4,  §12,  §20, 
95,  §  76,  §  78 

Repentance,  114,  127,  128 

Resurrection,  166,  169.  See 
also  Future  life;  Immor- 
tality 

Revelation,  38,  chap,  ii,  chap, 
iii,  §  56,  232 

Revelation,  Book  of,  161 

Righteousness,  §2,  §6,  §12, 
§13,  §23,  76,  §29,  §30, 
§  34,  94,  107,  §  64,  224,  225. 


26o     CHRISTIAN  FAITH  FOR  MEN  OF  TODAY 


See    also    Salvation; 
God,  VViU  of 


Sin; 


54, 


Salvation,  94,  §§  46-50, 

§59,  §61,  §62 
Sanctification,  §  49 
Science,  Physical,  54,  56,  57, 

59,  88,  89,  §36,  §39,  243. 

See  also  Evolution 
Second    Advent,     §  68,     §  69, 

250-252 
Sects,  22,  47,  61,  198.    See  also 

Church 
Self-sacrifice,  12,  151,  202 
Sermon,  197,  200,  214 
Sin,   124,  chap,  v,   145, 

153 
— Cause  of,  94,  106,  121 
— Forgiveness    of.      See 

giveness 
— Nature  of,  §  44 
— Original,  119,  124,  125 
— Punishment    of,    94, 

§46,    §52,    §53,    133, 

175 
— Unpardonable,  245    . 


146, 


For- 


§  45, 
174, 


Social  service,  §  70,  §  78,  §  79. 

See  also  Brotherhood  of  man 
Socrates,  13,  133,  166 
Spirit,  78,  §  41,  189,  190.    See 

also  Holy  Spirit 
Sunday  school,  §  77 
Supernatural,  42,  56,  84,  §  39, 

§40,    §69,    189,    192,    193. 

See  also  Miracle 

Teaching,  Suggestions  for,  223 
Tradition,    §  7,    20.     See  also 

Conservatism 
Trinity,  §31,  §32 
Tri theism,  §  27 
Truth  of  religion,  §  7,  §§  9-12, 

40,  53,  54,  216 

Virgin  Mary,  76,  246 

Will,    Freedom   of,    94,    §  42, 

§  43,  190,  244 
Worship,  §  76,  §  79 

Xenophanes,  136 

Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation, 205 


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